Turning Tables
by Drowning-In-Your-Eyes
Summary: Blaine and Kurt are happy together until Kurt suddenly becomes abusive. Blaine feels trapped and afraid to get help. Turns out Kurt needs help just as much as he does. Warnings for physical and emotional abuse. Klaine.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**First Glee fic ever. Please let me know what you think.**

Singing the ending notes of his song, Blaine glanced over at his boyfriend, seeking his approval. Kurt nodded gently, a smile on his face. Despite the loud clapping and standing ovation he received from Kurt's New Directions friends and Mr. Schue, his boyfriends approval was really all that mattered to him; the approval that used to come so readily, which was becoming harder and harder to obtain as the relationship transpired.

Blaine and Kurt had been together for just over six months, five and a half of which had been the happiest and most secure of Blaine's life. The young couple had enjoyed dates at Breadstix, coffee mornings in Lima Bean, singing together, looking after Pavarotti before his unfortunate demise; they'd even enjoyed studying together. Blaine had fit right into Kurt's home life, watching games and making football small talk with Finn and Burt, responding to Burt's gruff protectiveness with nothing but reassurance and confident charm.

At the beginning of summer vacation, when he'd told Kurt for the first time how much he loved him, and Kurt had returned the sentiments with such eager happiness, that was the moment that he decided he'd be transferring from Dalton to McKinley, which was what led to his current New Direction's audition. He'd do anything to make Kurt happy, and he'd always just assumed that Kurt would do the same for him. Lately he thought maybe he'd been wrong though.

Kurt had suddenly developed quite a temper throughout the past month of their relationship. Although he'd always had quite a short fuse and possessed many diva like characteristics, he had never really lost his temper with Blaine until four weeks previously, which is when Blaine started to notice the changes in his boyfriends temperament. Often, he felt like he had to walk on egg shells to avoid the brunt of Kurt's anger, but selflessly he did just that. He didn't know what was bothering Kurt, but as the dutiful boyfriend, it was his job to put a smile on his love's face and keep him as happy as possible.

He shuddered as he thought back to the first argument. For another couple, it wouldn't have been a particularly big deal, but they weren't another couple; they were Klaine, as Blaine's Warbler friends had so kindly christened them. They had made a vow to always talk out their problems with each other instead of letting them simmer into an argument, as the very thought of fighting with Kurt made Blaine's skin crawl. The first argument had been about Blaine's choice of music in the car as he and Kurt drove back to Kurt's house after what had been a lovely date.

"_Always so fucking top 40," Kurt mumbled to himself as Katy Perry blasted from the speaker's of Blaine's car stereo. _

"_What's that?" Blaine asked, halting his singing to turn down the radio, a smile on his face. He really loves Katy Perry._

"_I said always so fucking top 40. And why do we have to listen to what you want to all the time?" _

"_Driver chooses the music," Blaine smiled, turning back up the music and resuming his singing. Sighing, Kurt switched off the stereo and folded his arms._

"_Kurt?" Blaine questioned, the smile dropping off his face._

"_Just shut up for a few minutes. You're pissing me off," Kurt grumbled angrily. Blaine's smile dropped further into a frown. He forced a smile back onto his face to mask the hurt. _

"_Kurt, don't be like this. You can choose the music if you like. I didn't know you had a problem with my stuff. You never said. I don't mind listening to show tunes."_

_Still tense, Kurt reached forward and switched the station to one that he knew he'd enjoy. The car was silent for a few minutes, just how he wanted it, until Blaine started singing along to the music. Kurt bit his tongue for a minute, before emitting another scathing remark._

"_For God's sake Blaine, is it too much to ask for to be allowed to LISTEN to some MUSIC in peace?"_

_Kurt swore he saw his boyfriends lip tremble for a second, before he managed to catch himself. _

"_Sorry," he whispered, failing to mask the hurt that bled through the word. Kurt knew he should feel bad, regretful, guilty, for snapping at his boyfriend for doing something that they do together every time they're in the car, especially since Blaine was so obviously hurt by what he'd said. He was shocked by the fact that he just felt anger towards his boyfriend, even though he'd done nothing to deserve it._

"_We're here, Kurt," Blaine's voice cut softly through his thought process. As Kurt opened the door to exit the car, Blaine softly told him "I love you," to which Kurt just slammed the car door and went into the house._

Of course, Kurt had called to apologise first thing the next morning, and Blaine had immediately forgiven him, just relieved that his boyfriend was back to normal. He'd feared that Kurt had tired of him and was ringing to end their relationship. There had been quite a few more arguments after that in the last month, but Kurt always apologised the next day, and was always immediately forgiven. Blaine was broken from his state of reminiscence by Mr. Shue's voice.

"That was amazing Blaine. I think we can all agree that we'd be honored to have you as a member of New Directions." Blaine smiled shyly and glanced at Kurt, who was beaming at him. He loved that smile. Joining a new school, his parents ire at him for 'throwing away his education for a BOY', and having to make a new bunch of friends was worth the effort just to see that smile.

As everyone congratulated him on his performance and on becoming part of their group, Blaine felt like he was on top of the world. All the nerves he felt about joining a public school riddled with bullies melted away. He was still smiling as he and his boyfriend walked hand in hand to Kurt's car when Glee had ended.

"I don't know what you're smiling at. You were flat for the whole first verse," Kurt informed him as soon as they were sitting in the car.

"What? But everyone said they liked it."

"That's because it was so obvious how nervous you were. They felt sorry for you. We're a charitable bunch at New Directions."

"Oh. Well... I'll try harder next time," Blaine told him, just wanting to avoid a confrontation. Kurt had already succeeded in destroying his good mood though. As he turned towards the window, all he wanted was for Kurt to drive him home where he could do his homework, sit through a strained family dinner and go to bed so he could wake up to an apology text in the morning and feel better again.

**Okay, so Kurt's gonna be somewhat of an ass for a while, but there's a medical reason for it which will come out eventually, and Klaine will end up together. Also, no character death because I can't stand reading it so I don't think I'd do too well writing it. **

**Please review because it spurs me on to write quicker.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Duet

**Thank you guys so much for reviewing, alerting and favorite-ing this story. Usually I'm a slower updater but it gave me the kick I needed to get this chapter done quickly. This chapter is for my six reviewers. **

The next week passed without incident, which Blaine was relieved about. There had been no more arguments with Kurt, who finally seemed to be back to his old self. Apart from receiving his first three slushy facials, it had been a pretty good week. He seemed to be fitting in well with Kurt's friends, the workload was manageable and Glee Club was going well. He'd been on two dates with Kurt that weekend, and they'd had an amazing time. Kurt had been affectionate and loving and couldn't apologise often enough for how he'd been treating his boyfriend lately. Blaine had been so happy to have his boyfriend back, and nothing managed to wipe the happy smile off his face for the rest of the weekend.

It was the following Monday in Glee club when things began to go downhill again. Blaine and Kurt took their seats, hand in hand, just as Mr. Shue walked in. "Guys, I have an announcement to make. Since a lot of you are Seniors this year and it's your last year of Glee, we have to take it all the way this year. We have to win Nationals. With that in mind, I think we should start rehearsing for Sectionals immediately. If it's alright with everyone, I'd like Rachel and Blaine to do the duet this year." There was some protest to Rachel getting another duet, but everyone agreed that Blaine was the right choice. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Shue ignored the negative feedback and gave Rachel the female lead anyways. Blaine was so surprised and delighted to have been given a part in a duet that he didn't even notice the sour expression adorning Kurt's features.

It wasn't until Kurt was driving him home that Blaine realised something was wrong.

"Oh my god Kurt I'm so excited. I never thought I'd get a duet in New Directions cos Finn and Puck and Sam and Artie and you are all so talented and I'm so new and I'm so happy that no one minded that Mr. Shue gave it to me. This is so amazing. I just hope I don't screw it up," Blaine babbled excitedly, not noticing that Kurt looked less than happy.

"I don't think you should do this," Kurt interjected, not taking his eyes off the road. Blaine looked at him shocked.

"What?" he asked, not believing what he'd heard. Kurt knew how important singing was to him.

"The only person you should be dueting with is me. You're MY boyfriend. People will talk. You're not doing this duet Blaine." The finality in Kurt's voice both scared and angered his boyfriend.

"Kurt, I may be your boyfriend but you don't own me. Mr. Shue asked me to do this duet, and I already said I would. This is a big deal for me Kurt, why can't you be happy for me? Everyone else was."

"It's funny that you think any of them give a shit about you. You've been hanging around these people since we met and they all still know you as 'Kurt's boyfriend.' They're MY friends, Blaine. If we broke up, do you honestly think any of them would even look at you? They're only showing an interest in you because you're with me. I'm not sure if one person in McKinley even knows your name. All that it's gonna take for New Directions to think any less of you is for you to screw up Sectionals for us."

Kurt glanced over at his boyfriend, and saw that he had a resigned look on his face. He looked like it was taking everything he had not to cry. He felt oddly pleased that he could have that effect on someone with just a few words, especially Blaine who seemed so strong. He didn't know why, but he wanted to see him cry. He decided to stick the boot in further.

"Do you seriously think you could pull off a duet? You're not at Dalton anymore, Blaine. You won't have twenty other voices and uniforms to hide behind. It'll just be you and Rachel. To be honest, I'm not so sure if your voice is up to par. There's so many more talented voices in New Directions. And McKinley doesn't have a zero tolerance bullying policy. So if you mess this up, who knows what might happen?"

He'd done it. He saw a few tears slip down Blaine's cheek before being quickly wiped away as Blaine composed himself again. "Aw baby, don't get upset. I'm just trying to protect you. I don't want you to get hurt, that's all. I'm looking out for you."

"I know Kurt. Thank you. I'm just not used to being in a public school again. I don't know what I was thinking. You're right, maybe I shouldn't take it this time around. Maybe next time, huh?"

"Maybe," Kurt smiled, smugly.

_xxxxx_

"Okay guys. Today we're gonna practise Rachel and Blaine's duet," Mr. Shue announced at the beginning of Glee the next day.

"Mr. Shue? I wanted to talk to you about that." Blaine started quietly. Mr. Shue nodded at him to continue.

"I..." Kurt squeezed his hand almost painfully to ensure that he continued. "I don't want to do the duet. I just think that there's so many talented male voices in the club and I just joined and I don't want to overstep any boundaries."

"But Blaine we have such chemistry. We can win if we do this song," Rachel butted in enthusiastically.

"Man you're not overstepping anything. We want you to do this," Finn told him, followed by a chorus of agreements from everyone else, except Kurt.

"That's really nice of you guys, but really I should focus on my studies until I catch up," he lied. The work in McKinley was far less advanced than Dalton, and he was already ahead.

"If you're sure Blaine," Mr. Shue frowned. Yesterday, Blaine had been so thrilled at the prospect of the duet, and this just didn't fit at all.

"Mr. Shue, if I may?" Kurt rose his hand. "It's a while since I've gotten to sing anything, and I think I more than proved myself when I was a member of the Warblers. I'd like to do the duet with Rachel."

Blaine was astonished when he heard what his boyfriend had to say. He briefly thought about how unfair it was that Kurt was allowed to sing with other people, but he wasn't allowed to do the same. He decided to let it drop. If he thought about it too much, he'd get angry. If he got angry, he might accidentally start an argument with Kurt which he could never win, so he really didn't deem it worth the effort. He didn't want to fight anymore.

When there were no objections and no other volunteers to do the male lead, Kurt was given the job. When Blaine saw how happy it made him, he just didn't have it in him to feel angry anymore. He felt genuinely happy for his boyfriend, and hoped it would put him in a better mood. And how many other clubs would have a countertenor in their midst? He knew they had a way better chance of winning with Kurt as their lead.

"Congratulations on your lead," he smiled, walking to Kurt's locker with him after Glee.

"Oh god, don't start fucking nagging me about the fact that I took your lead or whatever."

"Kurt, I..."

"Look Blaine, the person who leads for something as important as Sectionals needs to stand out. They need the full package, which means they need the voice and the looks. My voice stands out, as does my look. No offense, but you're short. And those brows? They'd be comical if they weren't so repulsive. You just don't have what we need. And without your Warbler buddies to doo-wop loudly to drown out your voice, we'd be screwed. Don't take it to heart though. You're not the only one holding us back. Artie's lack of legs, Finn's lack of dance skills and Mike's lack of voice also play a factor."

"I just wanted to congratulate you. Why are you being like this to me?" Blaine stammered.

"Honey, I know Dalton was a big boost of your confidence and all but you're in public school now. This is the real world, and you won't survive if you keep looking at yourself through rose tinted glasses. I'm looking out for you, like a good boyfriend should. Now come on, your parents will be wondering where you are."

Blaine felt so confused by all the conflicting thoughts running through his head. Kurt was saying cruel things, but apparently it was for his own good. He wasn't sure what to believe, but thinking back on some of the better times he spent with his boyfriend, back at Dalton and during summer, he knew that Kurt would never do anything to intentionally hurt him.

He scrambled to catch up with his boyfriend and, when he did, silently slipped his hand into Kurt's. He felt nothing but relief when Kurt didn't pull away. He'd never had anything like what he had with Kurt with anyone else before. He didn't know why Kurt was still with him, but he just wanted to hold on to him for as long as he could. He'd do whatever it took to keep his boyfriend.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so I'm just trying to get across that Blaine already doesn't think that much of himself, just in case it wasn't obvious. <strong>

**Thanks again to my reviewers, it's thanks to you that I got this chapter out today. Reviews are mucho appreciated x**


	3. Chapter 3: The Friends

**Thanks SO SO much for the reviews. Reading them makes me so happy. I'm glad you're enjoying this story. Warning for super mean Kurt and super sad Blaine in this chapter.**

"Friday sounds great guys. I miss you too. See you Friday," Blaine smiled, the first real smile in days, before hanging up his cell and turning his attention back to Kurt.

"Who was that?" Kurt asked before taking a long sip of his coffee.

"Wes and David. They said they miss me and want to meet up on Friday." Blaine was so relieved to have heard from his friends. It was the first time they'd contacted him since he enrolled at McKinley, and he had managed to convince himself that they were angry at him for leaving the Warblers in the lurch. They had quickly reassured him that the real reason for not getting in touch sooner was because they wanted to give him time to settle in to his new school. He was so excited at the prospect of seeing them again. "We didn't have any plans so I said yes. That's okay, right?" He asked Kurt as an afterthought.

"Well actually," Blaine immediately felt his heart plummet, "I was thinking that we could go to the movies this Friday. There's a new one out that I'd really like to see."

"I'll take you Saturday," Blaine stated, still hopeful. When he saw Kurt's eyes narrow, his mind quickly searched for an alternative solution. He quickly added "-or Wes and David could come with us to see the movie?"

"I was hoping that we could have some time alone though, and maybe not pay that much attention to the movie?" Kurt winked, placing a hand on Blaine's knee under the table they were sitting at.

"I'd love that Kurt, but it's just that I promised Wes and David -"

"And who's more important to you? Wes and David or your boyfriend, who loves you more than anyone?" interrupted Kurt, an edge of spite in his voice.

"Well obviously you but I haven't seen them in forever and-"

"Well then what's another week, huh? Why do you even need to see them at all? That chapter of your life is over now. You're not a Warbler anymore. You have a new school, new friends.."

"Well, as you informed me a few days ago, they aren't really my friends. I'm just your boyfriend to them," Blaine dared to interrupt.

"Well what's wrong with being my boyfriend?"

"Nothing, Kurt. It's just... Wes and David and I have been friends for two years now. I was so confused and hurt when I first started at Dalton. I didn't trust anybody. I hadn't had friends for a long time. No one in my old school wanted to know me because of my sexuality. But then they came along and they were so welcoming and they took me under their wing. They're my best friends, Kurt."

Blaine couldn't hide how hurt he felt when Kurt snorted a laugh. He found it difficult to talk about the bullying from his past, and it hurt that his boyfriend would be so insensitive when he tried to confide in him.

"Sweetie, David and Wes are each others best friends. To them, you're the sad little boy who needed help. They helped you, Blaine, and then you latched on to them. It's kinda pathetic. They were afraid to tell you to leave them alone because you were the Warblers lead and if you quit they would have had to get a new one."

Kurt watched as his boyfriend's face fell. Every other time he'd insulted him, although he was upset, he looked resigned to whatever Kurt was saying, like deep down what he already thought about himself was just being confirmed. This time though, his face had contorted into a look of devastation.

"B-but," he stammered, "They said they m-missed me."

"Yes, honey, I'm sure it takes a lot of adjustment to get used to not having their little lap dog running around after them, answering to their every beck and call," Kurt leaned forward and grasped his boyfriends hand in his on the table. "It's okay though, baby. You don't need them anymore. You've got me, you don't need anybody else. I'll look after you, okay?"

Blaine just nodded, numbly. Kurt could see that his mind was working a mile per minute, sifting through some of his memories of Wes and David, and comparing them with what Kurt had just said. He watched as the boy in front of him just seemed to crumble, his usual perfect posture giving way to a slouch as his hand wiped across his tired eyes, desperately trying to halt the tears before they could come.

"I think... I'd like to leave now. C-can we please leave?" he stumbled through his words, already standing from the table and slipping into his jacket.

"Of course baby, would you like me to take you home?"

Blaine just nodded and followed Kurt out into the parking lot. He didn't speak again until they were on the road.

"How long have you known that? About W-Wes and David?" his voice cracked on David's name. "Did everyone know? Was it like some sort of big joke?"

"Are you still thinking about that? If you must know, I saw it the first time I met you guys, when I was spying. It was pretty obvious. And yes, pretty much everyone knew. The Warblers used to joke about it quite a bit."

Blaine's eyes were closed and his breathing was deep.

"I really thought they were my friends. How could I be so stupid?" he whispered. "They were the first real friends I ever had.. or I t-thought they were anyways. Oh god, I must be one of those annoying kids who latches on to the first person who gives them a bit of attention. It's just that... they were the first people who didn't immediately want to h-hurt me when they found out I was gay. I just wanted to hold onto that. Why didn't you tell me, Kurt?"

"I didn't want to hurt you, sweetie. I'd never do anything to hurt you," Kurt answered in a sickeningly sweet tone, reaching his hand out to hold Blaine's.

"Kurt, none of my friends want to be my friend, yours are just putting up with me because of you, my parents are so angry with me for transferring, and they still haven't gotten over the fact that I'm g-gay," Blaine quaked. "You're the only person that really cares about me. You're the only person I can really trust. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kurt didn't say anything, just kept his eyes on the road rubbed circles onto the back of Blaine's hand with his thumb.

"I'm gonna text Wes now and tell him I can't make it. There's no point in them wasting their Friday night pretending to like me," Blaine mumbled. He tried to sound casual, like it wasn't a big deal, but it was obvious how betrayed he felt. They didn't speak another word until Kurt pulled up outside Blaine's large house.

"So I guess we're going to see that movie on Friday night then?" Blaine asked, glancing over at Kurt as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"No, sorry, I can't now. Yesterday, Finn invited me to a Glee boys night on Friday and I said no because I thought I had plans with you but when you said you were going to do something with Wes and David, I texted him to tell him I could make it after all," Kurt answered as apologetically as he could.

"Well I'll come with you. I'm a Glee boy, right? They wouldn't mind, would they?" asked Blaine, hopefully.

"I'd love you to come, but it's just that they didn't invite you so I dunno if they want you there..." he lied. Finn had been sure to tell his brother to extend the invite to Blaine.

If Kurt thought it was impossible for his boyfriend to resemble a kicked puppy anymore than he had before, he was wrong.

"If you really want, I'll tell Finn I can't go and..."

"No, no, it's fine," Blaine interrupted, seemingly having found something very interesting on his shoe to stare at. "I'll just catch up on some school work. You should go and have a good time with your friends." Kurt didn't miss how his voice faltered on the word friends.

"Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you. Maybe you'll be invited next time."

"Yeah, maybe." Blaine attempted a smile, which was such a failure that even Finn would have seen through it.

"I'll pick you up in the morning for school and we'll ride together again, yeah?" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded sullenly, leaning over to peck his boyfriend's lips before exiting the vehicle.

Kurt watched as Blaine walked towards his door, wiping his sleeve across his cheeks to rid himself of the tears that he'd managed to hold in until he thought his boyfriend wasn't looking. Kurt smirked to himself before pulling out of the driveway.

**I always think, "Oh I have to say ... in my author's note" and then forget what it is I meant to say when it comes to actually writing it.**

**Anyways, I hope this was okay for you guys. Kurt really took it up a notch here.. **

**As always, thanks so much for the reviews, favorites and alerts. **

**If you can spare a minute, reviews make me squeal and write faster :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Father

**Hey guys. I know a lot of you are anxious for Kurt's "reason" for everything that's going down, and it's not gonna be too long before it's revealed, but there will be a few chapters between now and then, because I don't want to rush into it, as I'm researching. I like my stories to be as accurate as possible. **

**Also, I'm completely overwhelmed by the number of reviews I got for the last chapter. It made me SO happy. I love reading input and feedback so much, and I'd love if you guys could keep it coming for this chapter. Kurt does get darker in this chapter. Warnings are in summary.**

Blaine knocked on the front door of Kurt's house the next Saturday morning with trepidation. He briefly pondered on the fact the he'd been to Kurt's house numerous times before, and he shouldn't feel so nervous. What bothered him even more was that, when usually it was his boyfriend's gruff, protective father he was nervous of, this time his nerves were caused by Kurt himself. He knew that it wasn't healthy to be nervous to see his boyfriend, but he couldn't help it.

He didn't like to hear the truth about himself, preferring to live in a fantasy world where he was dapper and charming and accepted and loved, but lately Kurt had been unbridledly telling him exactly what he thought of him. While he always appreciated honesty, he couldn't say it didn't hurt, and a shot of apprehension often ran through him when Kurt opened his mouth to speak as of late.

Also, he couldn't seem to shake the fear that Kurt was going to break up with him. The fear and hurt caused by Kurt's brutal honesty was a small price worth paying for the good moments they got to spend together. Admittedly, they were becoming less and less frequent, but that was something he could live with as long as he still had the hope of things being like they used to be. That was something that he wouldn't be able to hold onto if they broke up.

He was knocked from his musings as the door in front of him opened to reveal Burt Hummel.

"Hello Blaine," he nodded. Burt had begun to warm to his son's boyfriend the more often he met him, and the boy was quickly beginning to feel like part of the family to him.

"Hey Mr. Hummel. Is Kurt here? He told me to be here by eleven so I could take him shopping" Blaine asked as confidently as he could.

"I'm afraid he's not home yet. He was at some kind of Glee boys get-together last night and they all decided to stay at Puck's house for the night. Hey you're in Glee, why didn't you go?"

"I have a lot of school work to catch up on and I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself knowing that I'm behind on my work," Blaine lied, briefly trying to contemplate when it had become so easy to him.

"That's very sensible of you. Why don't you come in and wait for him? I'm just watching a rerun on TV of a Buckeye's game from last year. You like the Buckeye's, don't ya kid?" he asked, stepping aside to let Blaine enter.

"Yes Sir, that sounds good." Blaine couldn't help but perk up at the thought of spending some time watching football with Mr. Hummel. He'd always wished his own father wanted to spend time with him, so spending time with another father figure was something he wasn't used to, yet enjoyed none the less.

After a half hour of watching the game and chatting comfortably, the door opened to reveal Kurt.

"Hey," he greeted, peering into the living room, wondering why his dad and boyfriend looked so contented and comfortable with each other.

"Good morning Kurt. Blaine came to pick you up for your shopping trip and you weren't here so I invited him in to watch a game," Burt explained upon seeing the confusion painting his son's face. "How was your night?"

"Good," Kurt supplied. "I just need to do my moisturising routine. I missed it last night. You coming down to the basement with me, Blaine?"

"This quarter's almost over. He'll be down in a few minutes," Burt answered for him before switching his attention back to the T.V.

Blaine watched as Kurt's eyes narrowed in annoyance and some anger. When he realised that Blaine didn't intend on leaving Burt to come with him until the quarter was over, he huffed down the stairs to his room. Blaine bit his lip gently. He didn't want to anger Kurt, but he didn't want to disobey Burt either, and he was enjoying watching the football with the older man.

Five minutes later, the quarter was over and Blaine was hesitantly edging his way down the stairs to Kurt's basement room.

"Hey," he greeted quietly. Kurt slowly screwed the lid back onto one of his numerous tubs of moisturising creams, before standing up even more slowly. Blaine tentatively walked over to his boyfriend to give him a hug. Hugging Kurt had always been one of his favorite things to do since he'd met him. It hurt more than he could have imagined when Kurt pushed him away.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked, voice taking on an irked tone.

"I was just going to hug you," Blaine answered glumly.

"Eurgh not that. I'm not fucking stupid. I meant what were you doing when I came in?"

"I was just watching a game with your dad. You told me to be here at eleven, but you weren't home so he invited me in to watch a rerun of an old game," Blaine explained nervously, trying to stop his voice from shaking.

"What gives you the right to spend quality time with MY dad?" Kurt asked, livid.

"Kurt, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just sitting with him while I was waiting for you," Blaine justified gently, trying to diffuse the situation before Kurt got any more angry.

"Just because your dad hates you, you think that gives you the right to try to steal mine?" Kurt raged as quietly as possible so as not to draw Burt's attention to them.

Blaine flinched back like Kurt had burned him.

"Kurt, you know how insecure I am about my relationship with my parents. How-"

"Yeah," Kurt interrupted, chuckling darkly. "You have every right to feel insecure. The two people in the world you are genetically programmed to love you, and even they can't stand the sight of you. Your own parents..."

Blaine drew in a shaky breath, trying to get a handle on his emotions. He wanted to be angry, but how could he be? Kurt was only saying the truth. He was being honest. What gave him the right to be mad at his boyfriend for being honest? He felt tears begin to leak from the corners of his eyes, and was powerless to stop them. Kurt was still standing in front of him, stiff with anger.

"Why didn't you come down here with me when I got home? You chose spending time with my dad over spending time with me."

"There was only five minutes left in the quarter, Kurt. Please. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you," Blaine pleaded.

"BLAINE, SON! THE NEXT QUARTER IS STARTING," Burt shouted from his place in the living room.

When Burt called him "son", Blaine could literally see something snapping in Kurt. He looked more furious than his boyfriend had ever seen him. Nothing could prepare Blaine for what happened next though. He felt a burning hand meet his cheek as he was sent sprawling back onto Kurt's bed, which had luckily been behind him. His mouth fell open as shock, terror, pain and fear clouded his mind. Gingerly, he touched his hand to his cheek and rubbed gently, gaining the courage to look up at Kurt.

He felt even more terror at the realisation that Kurt didn't look sorry, he didn't look shocked or upset or disbelieving. He still had the same sneer on his face as he had before.

"Kurt-" Blaine whispered, tears clouding his vision.

"You just stay the fuck away from my dad," Kurt thundered, causing Blaine to literally tremble.

He felt scared, but mostly he felt guilty and stupid. He felt guilty for making Kurt feel so insecure about his father that he resorted to violence. Kurt had always been against violence because of the bullying that he'd endured before his transfer to Dalton. Blaine realised how terribly he must have made Kurt feel for him to stoop to such measures, and it made him feel terrible. All this time, he'd been thinking of how what Kurt had been saying to him was making him feel, but he wasn't thinking of what his actions were doing to Kurt. He joined his boyfriend's school, joined his glee club, got a solo in his first week that Kurt hadn't managed to get in his whole two years in the club, watched sports with his dad... Blaine felt guilty and stupid. He was baring down on his boyfriend's life and taking over everything. Of course Kurt was going to be angry. Blaine felt guilty and stupid for not realising how overbearing he was being sooner.

This was all his fault. He deserved everything that Kurt gave him. Every harsh word, even the violence... It didn't matter that if the roles were reverses, no matter what Kurt did to him, no matter how overbearing he got, how annoying, how mean, Blaine knew that he'd never have it in his heart to say a hurtful word to him or hurt him. He could never stand to see anything but a smile on Kurt's face, and he'd die if he was the cause of any other expression marring his boyfriend's perfect features. That thought didn't matter right now, because he'd hurt his boyfriend and he needed to apologise. He didn't want this to happen again. He had to say sorry.

"Kurt, I'm sorry for making you feel so insecure," he mumbled, trying to sound as sincere as possible when there were so many conflicting emotions running through his head at once. He was shocked by the fear that was flooding his voice.

"What are you talking about? Do you honestly think YOU have what it takes to make ME insecure? Look at you. You have nothing.. You are nothing but pathetic. Your friends hate you, my friends hate you, your parents hate you, I'm beginning to hate you..."

"NO," Blaine shouted. "No, Kurt. Please don't say that. No.. I love you. Please don't leave me. I'll do whatever you want. Please, I'll make you love me again. I won't go near your dad, I'll just sing in the background at Glee like Mike, I won't try to be friends with any of your friends.. Please, Kurt.."

"Okay, Blaine. One more shot.. But if we have to have this discussion again, we're over."

Blaine nodded, tears pouring down his face. This was his worst nightmare come true. He'd have no one if Kurt left him, and that was something that he just couldn't deal with.

* * *

><p><strong>There we have it. Kurt being horrible and Blaine's insecurity getting the better of him to the point of blaming himself for Kurt abusing him. I'm studying social care, and did a long presentation for my class on the effects of domestic violence in same sex partnerships, so my information will be accurate. And don't worry guys, everything will end up okay, and Kurt's secret will come out soon..<strong>

**Thanks again for reading, and I'd love a review if you have a minute to spare?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Nightmare

**This chapter happens two weeks after the last one. In my mind, the emotional abuse has severely escalated in those two weeks, and Kurt has slapped Blaine three more times. **

Finn watched Blaine intently as the shorter boy walked into Glee five minutes late, apologised softly and slouched down in a seat next to Kurt quietly. _Slouched, _Finn thought. That wasn't very Blaine at all... Blaine had changed a lot since he'd joined McKinley, and Finn just couldn't figure out what was the cause. Of course, people do tend to change from time to time, and there was nothing necessarily wrong with that, but Blaine had changed so rapidly in such a short space of time. And it wasn't just changes like a new haircut and a new shirt. No, there was something big going down with his stepbrother's boyfriend. He didn't want Kurt to get hurt, and Kurt loved this dude, so it was up to him to find out what was wrong with Blaine. Kurt had been quite moody lately, which Finn couldn't help but think Blaine might have been the cause of.

Many of the Glee club members had noticed it actually, how Kurt tended to be snappy and tired looking lately. Since it had begun with the arrival of Blaine, many of them were wary of their friends boyfriend. Although he'd started to become their friend too, recently he'd been standoffish and quiet. He hadn't made any effort to fit in or befriend anyone at McKinley. In any case, they'd known Kurt longer, and he was their boy, so if anything was to happen between the young couple, they all knew who's side they'd be on.

Blaine just felt tired. He had been having trouble sleeping for a while now. Everything was just so hard lately. He desperately wanted to keep Kurt, to make him love him again, but he didn't know how to do it. How could be make someone as amazing as Kurt love him when he was such a failure? He didn't have any friends to turn to for advice; he didn't even have any acquaintances. He didn't have parents he could confide in about anything, much less boys. Neither of his parents had siblings, so he didn't have any uncles, aunts or cousins he could unburden himself onto.

He'd done his best to keep the promises he made to Kurt the day his boyfriend had slapped him. He'd pulled away from Kurt's friends, talking as little as possible during Glee or when any of them were around, not even making eye contact for fear of initiating conversation. He'd refused Mr. Shue's offer of a few lines in a group number, even though everyone but Mike had a part. He'd made sure that he was always placed in the back of all the numbers he was involved in. The New Directions members had taken all this as lack of interest and investment in their group, which ensured that he wasn't their favorite person. Although it upset him to have so many people unhappy with him, Kurt was the most important person in his life, and so his main priority was to please him.

What disheartened him most of all was the simple fact that nothing he did was enough. No matter how much he sabotaged himself, no matter what he did or said, Kurt was never happy with him anymore. It hurt his heart to dwell on it, but his failure was an all consuming presence in his life. He didn't have anything else to think about. Thinking about his friends hurt almost as much, knowing that what he'd thought he'd shared with them hadn't been real. He knew it was a dimwitted thought, but he vaguely wished that he could go into a state of hibernation, where he could wake up in a few months when this cold spell of Kurt's was over.

He didn't take in a word that was said or sung in Glee that day, getting up robotically and moving to stand beside Kurt as soon as the group was excused. Kurt grabbed his hand and walked him towards the exit. Holding hands with Kurt used to make Blaine's heart feel warm; it still did sometimes, but Kurt had obtained a nasty habit of digging his nails into his boyfriend's hand just a little too deeply, causing a constant stinging pinch when they walked hand in hand. It made Blaine feel like the lowest life form in existence. Holding hands was always something he enjoyed doing, as it always gave him a sense of belonging, but now Kurt had twisted that into something nasty. It made him feel like he was just one of Kurt's possessions; and not even one that he placed much value on.

When they arrived at Blaine's house after a journey filled with silence, Blaine invited his boyfriend in as the lack of cars in the driveway made it glaringly obvious that no one was home, and he didn't want to get in trouble with Kurt for being rude if he didn't extend an invite. Kurt accepted, and followed Blaine into the mansion-like house.

"I'm starving. Get me something to eat," Kurt ordered. That was another thing Blaine noticed. He was never simply asked to do anything anymore. It was always an order. Kurt knew that all he had to do was ask and Blaine would come running, yet he enjoyed manifesting his power whenever he could.

"What would you like, Kurt?" Blaine questioned, walking towards the kitchen, Kurt in toe.

"You're my boyfriend. You should know..."

Blaine briefly felt himself panic, although he tried not to show it. He floundered for something to say, anything... He knew Kurt liked to eat healthy, so he'd pick something healthy.

"Well would you like a yoghurt, or some fruit maybe?"

"An apple would be nice," Kurt responded, looking at his boyfriend from his place leaning against the kitchen doorway.

Blaine walked hastily around the kitchen counter, trying to get Kurt's food as quickly as possible for fear of angering him. He grabbed one for himself as well before rejoining his boyfriend and handing him one of the apples.

"You're having one?" Kurt questioned skeptically.

"Yes," Blaine replied. Normally if he was asked something like that, he'd feel defensive, but now he just felt weary of where Kurt was going with this.

"Don't you think you've ate enough today already?" Blaine barely managed to ignore the urge to shrink back as Kurt eyed him up and down.

"Yes, you're right. Of course you're right," Blaine babbled, nervously. He placed the offending piece of fruit down on the kitchen counter as if it was scolding hot.

"Come on. We're going to your room." Blaine followed Kurt nervously.

Kurt shut the door behind them as they entered the room. When Blaine turned around to tell him that he wasn't permitted to have the door closed when he had company, he was taken aback when a pair of soft lips attached to his, the body behind them pushing him backwards. After a few steps, he fell backward when the back of his knees hit his bed. Kurt came down on top of him, not detaching his lips for a second.

He desperately tried to think through the fog that clouded his mind. This didn't feel like his Kurt at all. Although the lips were soft, the intent behind them certainly wasn't. He had made out with Kurt before, and he had been gentle and loving and Blaine had felt like an equal to his boyfriend. This time, he was reminded of his earlier feeling of being an unloved possession of Kurt's. The kiss was rough, angry and bordering on painful.

When Kurt started to unbutton his boyfriend's shirt, Blaine knew he had to stop him sooner rather than later. He was terrified that if he let Kurt go too far, he wouldn't stop. He felt slightly horrified at the realisation that he was afraid to have a heated make out with his boyfriend in case the boy would force him to go farther than he was ready for, and berated himself for not having more trust in the man he loved.

He knew he wasn't ready for this though, not right now. He didn't want Kurt to see the ugly body that he spent so much time making degrading comments about.

"Stop, Kurt," he managed to pull his head to the side for just long enough to murmur, before Kurt once again had his lips trapped. He put his hands up to Kurt's shoulder's to attempt to push him off. He winced when Kurt grabbed his wrists tightly and pushed them down onto the bed over his head, nails digging in angrily. He tried to struggle, but was weakened by his own feelings of exhaustion and distress, as well as fear of angering his ill-tempered boyfriend.

When Kurt's teeth closed in around his lip painfully, adrenalin finally kicked in and allowed him to buck to the side slightly, knocking Kurt off balance so that he fell on the bed next to his boyfriend. Blaine quickly jumped up from his prone position and planted himself firmly against the wall, heaving deep breaths in and out. His eyes were wide with shock, darting from Kurt to his bedroom door. He knew there was no point in running though. Kurt was his boyfriend. He'd just gotten carried away a little. He would've stopped eventually. He always heard people saying stuff about teenage hormones. Kurt was a teenager with hormones; he was entitled to get carried away every now and then. He would have listened if Blaine had just given him a chance.

Despite the pep talk he'd given himself, Blaine still couldn't help but shrink into the wall as Kurt approached him.

"What the fuck did you do that for, you fucking idiot? I was just making out with you."

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I just freaked out when you wouldn't stop. I'm sorry. I won't do it next time, I promise." Kurt's eyes looked empty of emotion, and in Blaine's experience, that was always when he was at his most dangerous.

"Look at you. You look even more pathetic than usual. You should be grateful that anyone is willing to fuck you at all." Blaine flinched at how close Kurt was when he spat the word fuck into his face.

"You really can't afford to be choosy," he insulted further. He always knew exactly the words to say to make Blaine feel lower, even when he thought it was impossible to feel any worse.

"You know what?" Kurt asked when Blaine failed to reply. "Why do I even bother? Fuck this Blaine. I'm not wasting anymore time on you than I have already. I can do so much better. This is it. We're over."

Blaine felt the panic rise within him immediately.

"No, Kurt, no please," he begged, grabbing Kurt's arm as he walked away. Without a second thought, Kurt lashed out, punching Blaine just below his right eye. Blaine fell to the floor, crying desperately but unwilling to give up. He needed Kurt, he needed to hold on to him for when _his _Kurt came back. He could distantly here begging pleading cries ringing out, and was startled when he realised they were his own. He felt something come in contact with his ribs, and realised that Kurt had kicked him. His boyfriend was shouting something. Let go? It was only as the second kick made contact with his ribs that Blaine realised he was holding onto one of Kurt's feet so that he couldn't leave. Painfully, he let go and just watched as Kurt angrily stormed out the door.

He didn't know what to do. Kurt was gone. The one person he had left was gone. He was entirely alone. He panicked inwardly as the implications of what that meant flooded him. No one else would ever want him. He'd die a lonely old man. No one would even notice. He allowed himself to curl into a ball as the sobs overcame him.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so that's it for this chapter..Kurt's reasons will be revealed soon! Sorry for any typos that maymay not be present in this chapter.**

**I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks so much for the feedback from the last chapter.**

**Please review guys. It really does mean a lot, and makes me want to continue. **


	6. Chapter 6: The BreakUp

**You guys are completely amazing. I got so many awesome reviews for the last chapter. It completely blew my mind. You have no idea how much it means to me. I can't do individual replies this week because I'm going on an early morning road trip in the morning so am going right to bed.**

**The first half is pretty much Blaine's point of view, and the second is Burt's. If you think it seems kinda scattered or anything, that's because it's the characters thoughts so they _are_ quite scattered. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy.**

Blaine walked into McKinley with his head bowed the next morning. He'd called and texted Kurt numerous times the previous night after he'd left, but received no reply. He felt nothing short of shattered. He'd woken up that morning on the floor where Kurt had left him with a blackened eye, which he'd used his mother's make-up to mask as best he could, and sickening bruising on his chest. The pain he felt from his physical injuries paled in comparison to how much agony his broken heart was causing him. He didn't understand how it could have ended like this, how he had suddenly become so unlovable.

This was the first morning since he'd begun attending school in McKinley that Kurt hadn't collected him from his house and drove him. He'd barely managed to stop himself from crying as he drove himself, the silence in the car suffocating him. He suddenly felt foolish about the fact that, for the last few weeks, he'd felt dread in the pit of his stomach when Kurt's car rolled up in his driveway. He'd hated the thoughts of going out and sitting into the car while Kurt's eyes scanned over him before listing off a number of hurtful remarks about his clothes, his hair, his complexion... He felt selfish for not realising back then what a good thing he had with Kurt, because now he wanted it back more than anything.

As he walked towards his locker with his head down, he missed the twin glares that Rachel and Tina sent him on their way past. He was shocked out of his own world when he felt someones hand come in contact with his shoulder menacingly, sending him pounding against a locker. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from whimpering at the blunt pain that was battering his rib cage. When he glanced up to see who his attacker was, he was shocked to see Puck glaring back at him as he walked away. Why was Puck angry at him? Blaine straightened himself out before deciding that it really didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore...

As he approached his locker, he trembled on the inside as he noticed Mercedes standing there. She was leaning against his locker with her arms folded, tapping her foot with an angry expression taking over her features. When she saw him, she stood up straight and her expression only became more menacing.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, white boy?"

Blaine blanched at the anger in her voice. Why did he always have to make everyone so angry?

"I'm just getting my books from my locker. What's wrong?"

"Don't play dumb. Kurt came knocking on my door last night crying his eyes out cos you broke up with him. Why did you do that?"

Blaine didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say.

"Kurt... Kurt told you I broke up with him?" he questioned, realising that it physically pained him to mention that name.

"Of course he did... I'm his best friend," Mercedes answered, taking his question up wrong but giving him his answer anyways. "You can bet you're gonna pay for this, Anderson."

Blaine closed his eyes and leaned against his locker as she walked away. Kurt was telling them that Blaine had been the one to initiate the break up? It didn't make any sense, why would he do that? And Mercedes said that Kurt had been devastated. Blaine knew that it was probably all just part of an act to make sure that his friends all took his side, but part of him hoped that Kurt had been devastated because maybe he'd realised he made a mistake and want him back?

It was then that he saw Kurt, walking down the hall surrounded by his friends. He was wearing the same black outfit he'd been wearing when he'd come into the Dalton common room and announced the news of Pavarotti's untimely death to the unsuspecting Warblers. And now he was playing the part of the betrayed boyfriend, mourning the loss of an important relationship. For a moment, Blaine allowed himself to imagine that Kurt really was that upset about the break-up, but then he saw Kurt momentarily smirk at him maliciously when none of his friends were watching, before immediately placing his miserable frown back on carefully. He tried to block out the comments that the New Directions girls sent him as they walked by with Kurt, telling him that Blaine isn't good enough for him anyways and he can do so much better. They were almost exactly the same words that Kurt had used when he'd dumped him, and they cut Blaine deep. He bit his lip to try to keep the emotionless mask on his face, and set off to class.

Blaine tried to avoid everyone all day, keeping his head down in classes and eating his lunch in a bathroom stall, something that he had swore to himself he'd never do again when he had started school at Dalton. He was upset that he'd taken such a huge step backwards. All day he had been treated exactly like he had been in his old school. It had reminded him of when he used to get trapped in frighteningly realistic flash backs of the Sadie Hawkins dance. But this was real... He was alone. Everyone hated him. There weren't any no tolerance bullying policies to save him. He was terrified.

When the bell rang to signify the end of lunch, Blaine decided to skip his afternoon classes. He stayed in the cramped cubicle until it was time for Glee. He knew it was a bad idea, and he couldn't understand why, but he felt like he _needed _to go to Glee. He hadn't _really _seen Kurt all day, and he needed to. Kurt was like his drug. He needed him to be strong. He needed him to get through his day. He just had to see him, to talk to him, at least once. He had to get rid of the feeling that swelled in the pit of his stomach more and more every second he was away from him. It felt like someone had died, and he was going to burst into tears if he couldn't see him.

"Well you have some nerve showing up here," he heard Santana bite out as he entered the choir room. He immediately declined his head to look at the floor.

"You have no right to be here anymore," butted in Finn. "You're lucky I didn't kill you today. I would've if Kurt hadn't warned me not to. Dude, he's so upset he even skipped Glee to go home and mope. Kurt's never skipped Glee before."

"We put up with you because you were Kurt's boyfriend, but you have been making no effort here since day one. You refuse to sing, you put no effort into dancing, you always want to be in the back. You're a waste of space in this club," Rachel informed him matter of factly.

"Kurt's way too good for you anyways. I don't know who you think you are dumping him. He deserves so much better than you."

Blaine's felt his bottom lip tremble and his eyes fill with tears. He wanted to defend himself, but what they were saying was true. He _was _a waste of space. Kurt deserved better than him. Unable to bite back his tears any longer, he fled from the room, from the school. He had to go see Kurt. He had to hear Kurt's voice. It was the only thing that could make this better.

As soon as Blaine ran from the room, Mike stood up. He felt like he had bonded with Blaine when they both took a back seat on singing, and he didn't think it was right for everyone to be attacking him like this. "Guys, don't you think that was just a little hypocritical?"

"How so? He broke Kurt's heart," Sam interjected.

"Yeah, who here hasn't broken someone's heart? Tina broke Artie's heart, Artie broke Brittney's heart, Quinn broke Puck and Finn's hearts, Rachel broke Finn's heart, Puck's broken just about everyone's heart.. The list is endless guys. What makes this any different? Kurt turns on the tears and suddenly Blaine's some kind of monster? I'm going home. I'll come back whenever Blaine does. You guys need to grow up."

Blaine knocked nervously on the door of the Hummel's house. He didn't know what to say to Kurt. He didn't know what he was doing. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was afraid Kurt would be angry with him and hurt him, but that didn't matter to him right now. All that mattered was seeing him and telling him how much he needed him.

His nerves only grew worse when the door opened to reveal Burt Hummel. His expression turned to one of anger when his eyes landed on Blaine's.

"Blaine, what do you want?"

"I just want to see Kurt, please."

"Don't you think you've done enough damage? I told you I'd hurt you if you hurt him, and I gotta say I'm pretty tempted right now, Kid. I'm disappointed in you. "

"Please, Sir. Just give me a minute. I want to make this right. Please." Although every instinct in Burt's body told him it was a bad idea, he let Blaine in anyways. He had never seen the kid so undone before. He always hid behind his polite manners and need for perfection.

"One chance. Five minutes. He's in the basement," Burt muttered, stepping aside.

Blaine walked briskly by him, thanking him as he went.

He was in such a hurry to get down to the basement, he forgot to even shut the door. Sighing, Burt walked over to close it, but paused briefly when he heard his son's voice.

"What the _fuck _are you doing here?" Burt was shocked by the venom in his boy's voice. He'd been crying on his shoulder less than five minutes ago, and now his voice held no hint of sadness; just anger and annoyance.

"K-kurt, please. Please just talk to me for a second. We can't end like this. P-please. I love you." That couldn't be Blaine that was talking? He sounded so nervous, scared almost. "W-why did you tell everyone that I broke up with you? Why didn't you tell the truth? Everyone h-hates me now." Burt stepped onto the top step in shock so he could peep around the corner of the wall at the top of the stairs leading to the basement and see what was happening. There wasn't a hint of anger or accusation in Blaine's voice, just fear and a need to understand. Burt felt so confused. Why would Kurt lie about something like this? He felt his heart stop when he heard what Kurt said next.

"Everyone hated you anyways. And why wouldn't they? You're fucking pathetic. Look at yourself." Burt felt horrified. This wasn't his Kurt. His Kurt would never say anything so vindictive to even his worst enemy, never mind the boy he loved. Burt was even more appalled when he looked at Blaine. Blaine had a look of devastation on his face, but also something else. He looked reserved to what Kurt was saying, like he'd heard it all before and really trusted in it.

"Kurt.. please." Burt braced his hand against the banister of the stairs when he heard how little Blaine's voice sounded. He'd never heard anything even resembling it from the seemingly confident boy. "Please t-take me back. Please. I love you."

Both Blaine and Burt physically flinched when Kurt practically cackled. "I don't know what's more pathetic. The fact that you still love me after everything I've done since you moved to McKinley, or the fact that you think I could ever love someone like you back." Burt had never, ever felt ashamed of Kurt for anything, but right now, he felt shame that he'd brought someone up to be so deliberately cruel and vindictive. Blaine was sobbing now, and Burt felt his heart break a little.

"Is this b-because I p-pushed you off when you tried to have s-sex with me?" Burt felt a nauseous feeling emerge in his stomach. "B-because if it is, t-then I'll do it. I'll let you if you just p-please don't leave me."

Kurt laughed callously. "It would've just been a pity fuck anyways. You're going to die a virgin, with no friends, no family, and definitely no boyfriend."

"C-can you please just tell me w-when did you stop l-loving me?" Burt couldn't bare how broken he sounded.

"I never loved you. No one ever has, and no one ever will."

When he heard the sob that erupted from deep in Blaine's throat and shook his whole body, Burt finally managed to make his feet move and his voice work.

He made it to the bottom of the stairs in record speed, registering the shock on both the boys faces when they saw him. He felt sickened when he saw Kurt immediately put on his heartbroken, wronged boyfriend expression. He looked to Blaine, who was frantically rubbing the tears from his eyes and trying to reattain his usual confident air.

"I'm sorry for everything Mr. Hummel. You too Kurt. I'm going to go now." He raced past Burt as if afraid the man would physically hurt him, or give him another verbal beating like the one he'd just received. Burt let him go, he'd make sure to talk to him later. Right now he needed to deal with his son.

* * *

><p><strong>Slight cliffhanger. I had something I wanted to say here but I can't remember what it was. : Hope this is okay. I'd really appreciate some reviews if you guys have time. I'll update again soon x**


	7. Chapter 7: The Showdown

**Heya. I had no time for replying to reviews this chapter because I'm going on vacation in literally half an hour and I have yet to pack. I wrote this yesterday and I'm not 100% happy with it but if I don't post as it is, I won't be able to update till next Saturday, which would suck.**

**Anyways, guys I can't believe how many reviews you left me for the last chapter. I can't even begin to say how thankful I am for all of you who are reading this. I love hearing your feedback. Usually, when I write I take like a month between chapters but you guys encourage me so much that I can't stop writing..**

**Anyways, here's chapter seven.**

"Kurt, what just happened?" Burt asked warily, not sure if he wanted to know the truth but at the same time, not wanting his son to lie to him.

"Blaine just came to gloat. He just wanted to rub it in my face that we're over. He said that he doesn't love me anymore," Kurt lied, voice riddled with devastation that his father now knew to be fake.

Burt closed his eyes for a second, battling the onslaught of emotions that reared through him, mixing together to make each one impossible to decipher. He thanked god that he'd heard what had actually happened, because he knew that if he hadn't he would have went after Blaine and given him a piece of his mind, which was the last thing that poor boy needed. When he managed to look at Kurt, he saw a surmising look on his sons face. Disgust overcame him when he realised that was exactly what Kurt wanted him to do. Kurt wanted him to go after Blaine and tear him a new one.

Burt told himself to stay calm, that this boy was his son, his Kurt who had always been so thoughtful and caring; anything to prevent him from doing something he'd regret.

"Kurt, I heard everything. I was listening at the top of the stairs. I know what you..," he paused. Never in a million years had he imagined having a conversation like this with Kurt. "I heard the horrible things you said to him. I heard what he said about the sex. And I know that you broke up with him and lied about it. I need you to tell me, honestly, what's going on with you." Burt forced himself to stop talking at that point. His voice was beginning to rise and he needed to hear the truth come from Kurt's mouth before he lost it. Some part of him was still saying that his son would never do anything like that to any living creature, much less his own boyfriend.

Kurt knew that he was caught. "Eurgh fine. Yeah, so maybe I said some things. But you know what Dad? It doesn't matter, because he deserves it."

Burt was glad he'd yet to eat lunch, because if he had he was pretty sure it would be on the floor in front of him right now.

"Why does he deserve it Kurt? Because he won't put out?" His rise rose an octave, his previous attempts at upholding a calm demeanor counteracted by his son's cruelty.

"So that's what this is about? The fact that I want sex? I'm a teenage boy. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I don't have fucking hormones. I bet you were having sex at my age." Kurt's voice had risen as well, what sounded like resent seeping in.

"Yes, I was. And you know why? Because my partner was ready, and she wanted to have sex too. And I respected her, and I respected her feelings, and I would NEVER in a million years have spoken to her like you just spoke to that poor boy. And for your information, that's NOT what this is all about. This is about the fact that I just heard you verbally abuse your boyfriend." Burt could feel himself losing it, and when Kurt simply rolled his eyes, he felt like punching him, but knew he could never do something like that to his own flesh and blood.

He decided to use the trick that always got to Kurt more than anger and shouting did. He forced himself to damn down before stating quietly, "I'm so disappointed in you right now, Kurt, so disappointed."

Usually that made Kurt give in, but Burt was surprised to see that was not the case in this instance. If anything, he seemed angrier.

"Of course you'd take _Blaine's _side over your own son, right? Because he likes football and he's so prim and proper and polite all the fucking time. What sort of father ARE you? You're supposed to be on my side," Kurt bellowed, louder than ever.

"Kurt, if I had heard Blaine saying any one of those things to you, he'd be dead on the floor in front of me right now. I've never been so ashamed of you in my life."

Burt watched as rage sparked in his son's eyes. Who was this kid? It couldn't be his son. His son would never behave like this.

"I'm going now. I'm spending the night at Mercedes' house. I may or may not be home tomorrow, depending on whether you've come to your senses or not," Kurt taunted, making his way towards the stairs. Burt knew that he should stop him and demand that he stayed put and talked this out, but he couldn't. He was afraid of what he would do to his son if he was alone with him for another second.

That night at dinner, he made an excuse to Finn and Carole as to why Kurt wasn't there. He grimaced as Finn started ranting about Blaine and telling them about what happened at Glee. He wanted to tell them about what he'd heard, but he knew that if he did, Finn would tell everybody the next day at school. He was ashamed of Kurt, but he was still his son and he needed to get the full story from Blaine before he condemned his own flesh and blood. Kurt cared so much about Glee, and he didn't want his son to be kicked out of the club and turned against by all his friends if there was another way out of this.

"Finn, tell everybody to lay off Blaine," he grumbled, not taking his eyes off the food in front of him.

"What? But Burt, he broke Kurt's heart. Shouldn't you want me to murder him?" Finn asked, confusedly.

"Things aren't always as clear cut as they seem. Lay off Blaine until I have a word with him, okay?"

Finn didn't seem happy, but he knew by Burt's tone that he shouldn't argue. Burt sensed Carole's curious eyes on him, but didn't dare look at her. If he did, he knew he'd end up spilling everything that had transpired that afternoon, and he didn't want to do it; not until he knew everything.

* * *

><p>When the lunch bell rang the next day, Blaine slipped his lunch from his locker quickly before making his way towards the bathrooms, trying to make himself as little as possible so he wouldn't be noticed. He didn't think he could cope with anyone else shouting at him or pushing him and being angry or disappointed. It had hurt a lot the day before when Burt Hummel had told him he was disappointed in him, and then the things Kurt said to him afterwards just devastated him. He had been so sure that, despite everything, Kurt did love him. It hurt more than he could have ever believed when Kurt had told him that he never loved him.<p>

Feeling tears once again pool in his eyes, he quickened his pace, just wanting to lock himself in that bathroom cubicle and feel safe for a little while. That cubicle was the only place he ever really did feel safe anymore. Everywhere else had too many people who hated him, or too many memories that smothered him whenever he thought of them. As he rushed to the bathroom with his head down, he barely managed to keep his balance when he bumped into a hard body in front of him. Looking up ready to spew apologies, his breath caught when his eyes landed on Kurt's beautiful blue orbs.

"I'm so sorry Kurt. I didn't mean to. I wasn't looking where I was going, and I should've been. I'm sor.." He was interrupted when Kurt pressed a finger to his lips. Fear overcame him at the touch, but he was also ashamed to admit that a spark ran through him as well. Even after everything, one touch from Kurt still made him feel something special.

"Meet me in the auditorium in ten minutes," Kurt whispered into his ear. Blaine almost felt himself smile. He wanted to ask questions, but was afraid to say anything in case Kurt changed his mind. He didn't want to build up false hopes, but there was something in Kurt's voice that he hadn't heard for a while. He almost sounded like he did when Blaine first met him at Dalton, and for most of their relationship. Why did he want to meet at the auditorium? Did he want to sing for Blaine? Did he want Blaine back? For the first time in a while, Blaine allowed a smile to creep onto his features before making his way towards the auditorium.

When he entered the room, his eyes were instantly drawn to Kurt, who was standing centre stage.

"Blaine, you came. Do you want to come join me up here?" His voice still sounded like Blaine's Kurt. Smiling, Blaine nodded his head quickly like an excited child after being asked do they want to open their Christmas presents. He rushed to the stage and climbed the steps at the side, quickly joining Kurt at centre stage.

"Well you look happy," Kurt started, a hint of spite back in his voice. Blaine's smile faltered slightly. Kurt didn't sound like his Kurt anymore. He was beginning to sound like the Kurt who had broken up with him.

"Aww did I make you sad again? Did you think this was gonna be some big realisation of my 'mistakes' and we could kiss and make up? That's hilarious really. And wouldn't happen even if you were the last guy in this school..." Kurt gave him several little pushes as he talked, each one knocking him a few steps back until he felt something solid against his back; Kurt had him pushed against the back wall of the stage. He felt uneasy as his mind flashed back to two days ago in his bedroom, when Kurt also had him pushed up against the wall.

"Well why the fuck should you get to be happy when you fucking ruined EVERYTHING! My dad heard us talking yesterday. He heard what you said and now he fucking hates me," Kurt finished with a punch to Blaine's stomach. The shorter boy bent forward with a gasp to ease the pain, before Kurt caught him by the neck and pushed him up straight again.

"My dad took your side over mine." This sentence was punctuated by a punch to the nose. A crack rang out through the otherwise silent auditorium, followed by a scream from Blaine.

"My dad told me I'm a disappointment." A punch to his non-black eye.

"He said he's ashamed of me." A punch to the previously blackened eye which was covered with make-up. Blaine screamed again, but quickly shut his mouth in disgust when blood from his heavily bleeding nose entered it, causing a sickening coppery taste to fill his mouth.

"Just because your parents hate you, you think it's okay to make mine hate me." He was rattled by another punch to the stomach. Blaine wanted to say something, anything, to make Kurt stop. This hurt worse than anything he'd ever experienced. His mind flashed back to the Sadie Hawkin's dance, which was equally as brutal, but somehow this was worse because of who was causing the pain. He couldn't even really hear what Kurt was saying anymore as he dropped to the floor. His ribs were met by kick after kick, until he was struggling to breathe. He tried to curl into a ball to protect himself, but found that the protestation of his ribs only caused it to hurt more.

He didn't even notice that the kicking had stopped until he heard the sound of someone falling down beside him. Slowly, he opened his screwed up eyes to see Kurt lying on the floor next to him, eyes wide open, trembling wildly.

Blaine's eyes opened wide, and he realised with horror that Kurt was having a seizure. He immediately felt adrenaline begin to pump through him, and eased himself to his knees as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the red-hot agony that touched every fibre of his being. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed Finn's number while crawling to Kurt's head. When Finn answered, he instantly told him that Kurt was having a seizure and to call an ambulance and come to the auditorium.

He tried to remember what he'd been taught to do if he ever came across someone having a seizure, but all he could think of was the pain he was in. He cursed himself when his vision began blurring in and out, before screwing his eyes shut for a second. A thought suddenly flashed back to him, and he reached his hands out to gently hold Kurt's head in place so he wouldn't bump it off anything. He was relieved to hear the door slam before Finn and Puck ran out of the darkness. He barely registered the fact that Kurt had stopped convulsing as he finally allowed himself to succumb to the drowsiness that enveloped him.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so that's it for this chapter. I gotta run and pack. Hope you thought this was okay.<strong>

**I'd love some feedback if you can spare a minute. xxx.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Hospital

**I'm so sorry for the wait. I got back from vacation a week ago but haven't been having any inspiration. I pretty much had to force this chapter out. I feel like I'm back now though, so the next chapter should be quicker.**

**Thank you SO much again for all the support and reviews you guys have been giving me for this story. I seriously wouldn't be able to garner any inspiration to write at all without the feedback you give me. **

Gasping for breath, Finn and Puck ran into the dark auditorium. Glancing towards the stage, they felt dread overcome them when they saw the silhouette of Kurt lying in a prone position. Their shock turned to horror when Blaine keeled over beside him. They ran to the stage quickly, vaulting themselves up at the front instead of wasting time with the steps.

Finn dropped down beside Kurt, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw his brother's chest gently rise and fall.

"Oh shit, dude," Puck murmured. Finn looked up to see that he was kneeling beside Blaine.

"What's wrong?" he asked, standing up and walking over to his friend.

"Look at his face." Confused, Finn looked down at his brother's ex for the first time. He sucked in a deep breath as he saw how beaten he was. The lower half of his face was covered in blood from his nose, which appeared broken. He had a gash on one of his cheeks, while the other glowed a dark red color. It was obvious that it was going to bruise. He had a black eye, and the other looked like it was heading that way too.

"B-but how...?" This was all so wrong. Why had his brother had a seizure? And why was said brother's ex boyfriend lying on the floor beaten half to death? Finn just couldn't get his head around it. He was so consumed with trying to understand what was going on that he didn't even notice when Puck got up to inspect Kurt.

"Fuck," Puck spit out, bringing his friend back to the present. Panicking, he crawled across the floor quickly to Kurt before giving Puck a questioning glance when he saw that his brother's chest was still rising and falling at a good rate.

Puck silently held up Kurt's hand, which confused Finn even more, until his friend pointed to Kurt's knuckles. Finn drew in a sharp breath as anxiety overcame him. Kurt's knuckles were littered with small cuts and grazes. His past memories of helping to patch up Puck after he'd met up with his fight club screamed in Finn's head about where these marks must have came from. Puck's knuckles had been just like that after the brutal beatings he'd inflicted on other members of his club.

Finn glanced back at Blaine before looking at Kurt again.

"N-no. He wouldn't..." He stopped talking immediately when he heard the auditorium door slam, and thanked god when paramedics raced in with a gurney and several boxes of implements that would help his brother and Blaine. Principal Figgins, Coach Sylvester and Mr. Schue had all hurried in after the paramedics, puzzled looks on their faces until they saw the scene that greeted them in the harsh spotlight on the stage. Finn felt surprised and guilty when he saw another two paramedics holding another gurney come in after the first two. His surprise stemmed from the fact that he had been too out of it to hear Puck making the second call to 911 after seeing the extent of Blaine's injuries, and he felt guilty because it hadn't even crossed his mind that Blaine needed help. He had been too concerned with the health of his brother to even think of anybody else.

Ignoring the questioning looks of the three faculty members who had arrived with the paramedics, Finn focused all his attention on what the paramedics were doing with Kurt. Without a second thought, he followed them as they carried the gurney containing his brother through the busy halls whose occupants had completely stopped what they were doing to stare in shock and wonder.

He didn't even think of Blaine and Puck again until he was sitting in the ambulance beside Kurt. He saw the doors of the school burst open as the gurney containing Blaine was rushed out, Puck beside it. He couldn't even bring himself to feel surprised when Puck jumped into the ambulance beside Blaine. He couldn't see what happened next because the doors of the ambulance he was in slammed and they were off. He didn't know whether Puck insisted on riding with Blaine because he was genuinely worried about the kid, or because he just wanted to see what it was like to be in such a fast moving vehicle, but either way he was glad that Blaine had someone with him. The anger that he'd felt towards the boy for breaking Kurt's heart had quickly evaporated as soon as he got the frantic call from the boy when he'd been walking to the cafeteria with Puck.

His eyes caught on Kurt's knuckles again, and he grimaced. He didn't want to believe that Kurt could possibly have done anything to harm Blaine, but all the evidence was there. Finn felt smothered by guilt when he considered the possibility that maybe Kurt had been violent before and that's why Blaine broke up with him. He didn't want to believe that they'd all been so horrible to him after he'd already been through something like that. Looking back at Kurt's face, he forced himself to stop thinking along those lines. If Kurt had beaten Blaine, it was just because he'd been so hurt by the fact that he'd been dumped for no reason. It only felt like he'd been in the ambulance for a minute when it stopped at the hospital and Kurt was pulled out. He followed as quickly as he could, but was soon told to go wait in the relatives room for news. He barely registered another gurney speeding past before feeling Puck's comforting hand leading him in the direction that the nurse had pointed them. Now it was time for the really hard part; calling Burt.

* * *

><p>The second he heard Finn stutter out the words 'hospital' and 'Kurt' in the same sentence, Burt jumped into a car and broke just about every speed limit in Lima, reaching the ominous building in record time. Abandoning his car, he blindly ran in, bumping into a pallid Puck just inside the entrance.<p>

"Puckerman, what the hell happened? Where's Kurt? Is he okay?" he blurted, watching as Puck's eyes widened at the onslaught of questions.

"Come to the waiting room. Finn will explain everything." Burt's movements were robotic as he followed Puck to wherever Finn was, still waiting to find out what was wrong with his son. He expected that the first thing he'd do when he saw his stepson was demand answers, but he surprised himself when he couldn't help but engulf the boy in a hug. He looked like the had the weight of the world on his shoulders, which only succeeded to panic Burt even more.

"Finn, what the hell is going on?" he asked, sitting with his arm around the boys shoulders.

"I dunno. Everything was fine and then I got a call from Blaine telling me that Kurt was having a seizure and to call an ambulance and come to the auditorium. I did like he said and when we got there Kurt was lying on the stage and Blaine just passed out. We ran to the stage and Kurt wasn't seizing anymore but Blaine was covered in blood and bruises and stuff so Puck called another ambulance and... It all just gets hazy from there. I don't know what's going on. No one's allowed to see Kurt until they know what's wrong with him. They have to do scans and stuff. They said they'd come get us when they're done," Finn babbled. Burt barely managed to catch what the boy was saying.

"Where's Blaine? I need to see him. I need to know what happened." He couldn't sit in that room and just wait for news. He had to do something constructive.

"I was just coming from seeing him when I bumped into you, Mr. Hummel. I can take you if you like," Puck cut in. Burt started, having forgotten the boy was even there.

"Finn, Puck will be back to wait with you in a minute. If the doctor comes before I get back, direct him to Blaine's room." Finn just nodded, hoping Burt would finally get some answers as to what happened before Kurt's seizure.

Puck walked skittishly ahead of Burt. The older man could tell that he wanted to say something but was afraid of overstepping his mark. When they reached the door to the room that Burt guessed Blaine must be in, Puck froze at the entrance.

"What do ya wanna say, Puckerman?"

Puck swung around to face Burt, a look of surprise on his face. He looked very thoughtful for a minute, trying to choose the right words.

"He's really upset, Sir. And scared. He's trying to pretend he's not but he is. I know you're protective of Kurt but this isn't Blaine's fault. And..." Puck froze, biting his lip. Burt frowned. This wasn't like Puck at all. Usually the most he could get from the boy was a grunt. "Sir, we found grazes on Kurt's knuckles. Grazes like you'd get from hitting someone." When Burt didn't say anything back, he finished with "Just please go easy on him" before making his way back in the direction they'd came, most likely back to the waiting room to Finn.

When Puck rounded the corner, Burt sat down on a hard plastic seat. He couldn't face Blaine yet. What if Kurt really had done this to him? What was wrong with his son? He had started to feel protective of Blaine during the time the boy had been dating his son. If Kurt cared about someone, they were important to him too. That's why this was so confusing to him. Kurt guarded the people he loved with his life, and what he'd heard his son say to Blaine the day before? That couldn't have been his Kurt. And Kurt would certainly never physically harm _anyone, _let alone Blaine of all people. He couldn't bare to think about this anymore. Standing up, he quickly walked into the room before he could lose his nerve.

Blaine glanced up briefly when the door opened. Burt saw his eyes widen slightly with fear before he quickly looked down again. He couldn't believe that this was the Blaine that he'd gotten to know over the past six months. This boy looked so uncertain of himself. And he was a mess of bruises and bandages and cuts. "Blaine, how are you feeling?" he asked. He couldn't help the guilt that seeped into his voice. He wasn't sure whether his son had caused the physical damage, but if yesterday's overheard confrontation was anything to go by, it was definitely his boy who had caused the mental anguish that clearly showed on his face.

Blaine looked up nervously before whispering "I'm okay." He looked up at Burt for a second before looking down again and saying. "Please don't be angry with me. I'm so sorry." Of all the things the boy in front of him could have said, that was the absolute last thing that Burt expected to hear.

"Blaine, what could you possibly have to be sorry for?"

"I shouldn't have made him so angry. I shouldn't have been so stupid and followed him to the auditorium. If he hadn't been... He wouldn't have started having a seizure," sometime during stating his muddled thoughts, tears had started to roll down Blaine's cheeks. He tried his best to hide them, but Burt saw.

"If he hadn't been what?" Burt asked. He had to know. When Blaine didn't answer, he decided to approach it a different way.

"Who beat you up, Blaine?" he asked. It wasn't even possible to fathom how much he dreaded the answer.

"I can't..." Blaine started, sobbing openly now.

Burt sat down in the chair beside Blaine's bed, tentatively taking one of the boys hands in his. This was breaking his heart. This boy was someone's son, just like Kurt was his. Imagining Kurt in that bed made him shake with anger and grief. Imagining him being put there by someone he loved and trusted didn't even bare thinking about.

"Did Kurt do this to you? Please be honest with me."

Blaine looked into his eyes and saw only kindness. It was the first time any kindness had been sent his way in so long. He couldn't stop himself. He had to tell. It didn't matter that this person's son was the one who had put him here, all that mattered was that this person wanted to help him. He wanted to _see _him. Everyone else always just looked right through him. They didn't care. Maybe Burt only cared because he wanted to find out what was wrong with his son, but right now that didn't matter to him.

"Yes, he did it," he started with a sob. When he saw the look of devastation that crossed Burt's features, he changed his mind. Why should someone as amazing as Burt Hummel suffer when he could instead? No one cared about him. It would be better for him to carry this burden alone. It would cost him the last remaining person who had showed him any love recently, but he would do this for Kurt. He needed his father. "But... It was my fault. I broke up with him."

"Blaine, stop trying to protect Kurt. I heard everything you guys said in the basement yesterday. I know Kurt broke up with you and lied about it." Burt just looked at him with that concerned, understanding look of his. Blaine couldn't bare to look at it. He didn't deserve anyone's concern.

"Mr. Hummel, he may have broken up with me but it was my fault. You don't understand what it's like dating someone like me. I ruined everything. I always ruin everything."

"Blaine, stop blaming yourself. You didn't force Kurt to attack you. You didn't force him to break up with you. That was all down to him. Please, understand that not everything negative that happens is down to you. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You're one of those people, Blaine. And so is Kurt, even if we may not be seeing it now. I have faith that he'll come back to us."

"I'm just so scared, Mr. Hummel. I need him so much. I want my Kurt back. I miss him. He'd always know what to say in situations like these to make me feel better. Just a few words, and I'd be fine. I don't know what to do without him. I can't go back to how things were before I knew him, I just can't." Blaine was crying again now, and Burt slowly sat up on the bed and pulled the boy's head to his shoulder, hugging him gently, rocking him back and forth, just like he used to do for Kurt when he woke up with nightmares about his mothers death or when some homophobe said something particularly cruel.

He didn't know what to say to make this better. He didn't know why his son was acting like he was. It almost came as a relief when a doctor opened the door slightly and poked his head through.

"Mr. Hummel, we have the results of our tests back. I'd like to talk to you about what's wrong with Kurt." The expression on the young doctor's face and tone of voice he said those words in was enough to halt any relief Burt felt.

Something serious was wrong with his son. He could feel it.

* * *

><p><strong>So the big secret is finally being revealed in the next chapter. I hope this wasn't too hard to read. I'm babysitting and watching Phonebooth with my sister at the same time as writing, and I'm the worst multi-tasker ever, but I tried to make sure there's no typos. <strong>

**Anyways, I'm done rambling now. Please leave me your feedback, as it will ensure that the next chapter comes a lot faster. **


	9. Chapter 9: The Third Degree

**Thank you guys so much for the amazing reviews. It means SO much to me. I didn't have time to reply to each one specifically. BUT I'm gonna reply to every review I get for this chapter because I like communication between writers and the people who are reading.**

**Anyways, please review. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll update again as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.**

Burt stood up and straightened himself out before glancing over to the doctor. He didn't know whether he should leave and talk to the doctor outside or stay and let Blaine hear first hand what was wrong with his boyfriend. Surely he deserved as much after what he'd been through. Burt didn't have a clue what the procedure was for occurrences like this. The doctor concluded his dilemma when he spoke again.

"Actually, maybe I should ask you both some questions before we talk about this, just to give us further intel on how advanced what we're dealing with is. It's always beneficial to have a psychological assessment by those closest to the person."

Under normal circumstances, Burt would have told him to cut to the chase and just tell him what's the matter with his son, but there was something inside of him that didn't want to know; was terrified that it couldn't be fixed, that he'd lose the only original member of his family that he had left, the person he loved most in the world. He barely even noticed when Finn stuck his head in the door and asked could he stay. Burt nodded curtly and Finn joined him beside Blaine's bed. The tall teen looked awkwardly down at the boy who was just now managing to compose himself, and Burt saw guilt flash in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but any effort to do so was put to rest when the doctor started talking again.

"Have you noticed Kurt forgetting things more than usual lately?"

Blaine swallowed. He didn't want to answer any questions, but he wanted to help Kurt. The only problem was that he could barely think through his guilt; guilt that he almost felt like he wanted there to be something wrong with Kurt. He wanted there to be a reason, apart from how annoying he was, why Kurt had changed so much, why Kurt had beaten him.

"Umm... I didn't really notice anything.. I dunno" Finn mumbled. He couldn't remember what he had for dinner yesterday, never mind something that might or might not have occurred days or even weeks ago.

"Kurt hasn't been big on communicating with me for a while now," Burt stated awkwardly. He felt like he should know the answer to this question. It was his son for crying out loud. He should have paid him more attention.

Everyone snapped their heads around to look at Blaine when they heard him speak. He was so quite they'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Well..." he started hoarsely before putting his clenched fist to his mouth and clearing his throat, flinching slightly when the action jarred his ribs, "Around the beginning of summer, he started forgetting our dates. He used to always drive us but then I started cos he'd sometimes just forget we had anything planned at all. It didn't happen often enough for me to be concerned, but it did strike me as a little odd. But I mean, maybe it was just cos he wasn't as interested as I was... Sometimes he forgets the words of songs, ones that I know he knows all the lyrics for. One day he'd know them, the next day he wouldn't, then he would and then he wouldn't again. It never happens with older songs, just ones from the last maybe three months. He forgot my birthday. I know that he'd been planning a surprise cos he was being really secretive and he had the date written on his calender months in advance, but then he just forgot." Blaine looked down at his lap and stopped talking. He didn't want to think anymore. He shouldn't have written all those things off as being nothing. He should have been more attentive. Good boyfriends were attentive. If he were a good boyfriend, he would have noticed.

Burt picked up where he'd left off. "Kurt was talking about your birthday for ages. I forgot all about that. He was planning a full day together with you. He had everything you were going to do planned down to a tee. He did nothing?" Burt's mouth went dry when Blaine shook his head. This was serious. Kurt was too thoughtful to ever forget something so important to someone he loved. There was no way he'd ever let all those plans go to waste.

The doctor looked gravely at the chart he was holding before making some notes. "Have any of you noticed any impaired vision?"

Blaine thought carefully again, wanting to answer as accurately as he could. "Well... there were a few times in the last few weeks when he's been driving us places and he swerved into the wrong lane. When i'd look at him after, he'd be blinking really fast like he couldn't see properly. He always got angry if I made a big deal about it and said he was just doing it to scare me. I wouldn't have fallen for that before but he's been so different lately that I thought maybe he really was just trying to frighten me." Finn just looked at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Kurt was his brother, he should be able to answer these questions. Even more guilt consumed Burt. Kurt had always been so self-sufficient; It never occurred to him that he should pay extra close attention to everyday little things that his son did in case of circumstances like this. Not wishing to make Burt or Finn dwell on the fact that they didn't have answers, the doctor quickly asked his next question.

"Has he been more uncoordinated than usual?"

Eureka, thought Finn. Finally one he could answer. "Actually, he used to be really good at dancing in Glee and now sometimes he almost loses his balance. He never used to do that. We've been laughing at him for it," Finn finished somewhat guiltily.

"What about his intellectual functioning? Any problems there?" The doctor was looking more and more grim as the questioning continued, a fact which didn't escape anybody in the room.

"He was always a straight A student. Since school started again after Summer, he's barely been passing his exams. I thought it was stress or something," Burt answered. He didn't mention the fact that he'd silently thought Blaine was to blame for Kurt's bad results, since they'd dropped right when the boy had started attending McKinley.

"Have any of you noticed any changes in Kurt's personality?"

Blaine winced and bit his lip when the question was asked, which didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants of the small room. The doctor looked at him gently but expectantly, awaiting his reply. Finn looked curious, but it was Burt's reaction that surprised him most. The man was looking at him with such warmness and such a strong sense of caring, willing him to have the courage to tell the doctor what he needed to know. He almost felt like he recognised it from somewhere. It was what gave Blaine the extra push he needed to tell the truth; that and the fact that he desperately wanted to help his boyfriend.

"Kurt's been..." he paused. He couldn't do this. He looked down at his hands folded in his lap, trying to suppress the panic he was starting to feel, terrified that he'd hyperventilate. Without warning, he saw a warm hand reach out and grasp his. He looked up to see Burt giving him that same look. Suddenly, he remembered where he recognised it from. It looked exactly like the expression Kurt used to adorn when he looked at him. All of a sudden, courage and strength seemed to surge through him. He could do this. He had to do this. He wouldn't let Kurt down, not again..

"He's been saying things to me.. things that he normally wouldn't say."

"Like what?" the doctor prompted, causing Burt to glare at him. Blaine closed his eyes for a second. It was now or never. Opening his eyes again, he started talking as quick as he could, just wanting this whole thing to be over with.

"He s-said that my parents hate me. Umm... he said that all his friends hate me and they only talk to me because of him. He told me that he'd break up with me if I talked to any of his friends or his dad or if I did good in Glee club. He broke up with me and told everyone that I broke up with him so no one would talk to me. He s-said that no one would ever love me and I'd be alone forever." Bringing all these memories to the forefront of his mind was incredibly difficult for Blaine, and he was crying quietly when he stopped talking. "Is that enough? I don't want to remember anymore."

Finn had his head in his hands. How could Kurt _say _those horrible things to Blaine? He loved Blaine. How could he hurt him like that? How could they all have just ignored Blaine when they'd thought he'd broken up with Kurt? When he'd suddenly stopped talking to them and stopped participating in a club that he'd been so excited to be part of, how could they not have questioned that? What was wrong with Kurt? What could have made him treat his boyfriend like that? There were so many questions tumbling around in Finn's head that he had to sit down. He couldn't think straight about anything. He couldn't come up with any answers.

"Blaine, has Kurt ever been physically violent towards you?" the doctor questioned, an emotion in his eyes bordering on pity and sadness.

Blaine faltered. He really didn't want to talk about this, to make Kurt look like the bad guy. This was _his _fault. He'd pushed his boyfriend to this.

"Tell him, Blaine. Please," Burt pleaded. "You're almost there, Blaine. This is the last question. You're doing so good, buddy." There was that look again... The look Kurt always used to give him. This was for Kurt.

"There were a few times. Um.. the first time was in his bedroom." He tried to stutter as little as he could. He wanted so badly to just be strong. "I was watching a game with Burt when he came home, and I didn't go down to him until the quarter was over. He was angry at me for spending time with his dad. Said I was trying to steal him. He slapped me. The next time, he punched me and kicked me a few times and the last time was... right before he had his seizure." Blaine felt exhausted. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but by telling the doctor what he did, he'd betrayed Kurt. He looked to Burt again, wanting to see that glimpse of his boyfriend that he'd seen before, but all he saw on Burt's face now was guilt and shame. He couldn't understand why, and suddenly felt guilty himself for somehow hurting the older man.

"Blaine, have your parents arrived yet?" the doctor asked. He had a look of concern on his face directed towards the boy in the bed. Blaine wished they'd just worry about Kurt instead of wasting time on him.

"They're on a business trip. The nurse called them. They said they'd be back as soon as possible." Even as he said it, he knew that the others could sense he didn't believe it.

"P-please, just tell us what's w-wrong with h-him?" He didn't realise he was crying until he heard his voice break.

The young doctor sighed, trying to be as professional as he could. "I'm only an intern. I was sent to get as much information as I could so we can assess how advanced the problem is. I have to relay what you told me to the neurologist, who has reviewed the x-rays and MRI scans we took as soon as Kurt arrived. He'll come talk to you within the hour and tell you everything. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I'll get him to come as quickly as possible."

"Wait, neurologist? So there's something wrong with his brain?" Burt blanched even as the words left his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm really not allowed to tell you anything. I'll get him to see you right away," he answered before making a hasty retreat. No one said anything after his departure. What could they possibly say? They were all too busy focusing on their own mistakes, misgivings and guilt.

It came as somewhat of a relief to them all when Carole burst into the room out of breath, giving a quick rant about traffic to excuse her absence. Her presence immediately made all three occupants of the room feel better. The woman had a natural caring, motherly presence that they all found comforting.

Five minutes after Carole entered the room, there was a knock at the door before a very official looking man in a sharp suit with a lab coat over it briskly walked in.

"Mr. And Mrs. Hummel? My name is Dr. Saunders. I'm the surgeon in charge of taking care of your son. Please, you may want to sit down for what I'm about to tell you."

**Thanks a million for reading.**

**I'm so sorry I still didn't tell you. I just wanted to make Kurt's symptoms clear. Can anyone hazard a guess? I was in too much of a rush to let the reason go in this chapter, but I promise it'll be like the first line of the next chapter.**

**Please review. It's sure to make me write faster and then you'll find out sooner what's up with Kurt. **


	10. Chapter 10: The Diagnosis

**Okay guys new chapter. **

**Thank you all so much for the reviews. It meant so much to me. I replied to everyone who didn't post anonymously or have their PM turned off. I want to reply to the reviews for this chapter as well cos I really like talking to you guys.**

**Reviews are much appreciated.**

Burt and Carole took the doctor's advice and sat themselves down on the chairs beside Blaine's bed. Carole took her husband's hand and sent him a reassuring smile as the doctor began to speak.

"When your son came in, my team did an extensive check-up after which they suspected something suspicious might have been going on. They sent him for an MRI scan, which I was asked to look over. Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, these are the scans of Kurt's brain." He pulled the ominous slides out of an envelope and walked over to the window in the room, holding them in front of the light to make the images clearer.

"You see this here?" He pointed to a place on the scan, near the front of the brain but down a little to the bottom. "This shouldn't be here."

Blaine leaned forward slightly on the bed to get a closer look. "I-is that... oh god.. is that a tumor?" he asked, pointing to the scan with a shaky voice. Burt took a deep breath in, leaning closer to see what Blaine saw.

"Yes," the doctor admitted, looking down at Blaine as if noticing him for the first time. "I'm afraid that Kurt has a tumor between the frontal and temporal lobes of his brain." He pointed to each part as he said the name of it. Burt wasn't listening anymore, however. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart filling his head. He could see Blaine crying with his head in his hands but he couldn't hear it. He could see Carole hugging the boy and her lips moving as she spoke soothing words but he couldn't hear her. Then suddenly, the noises all came back at deafening levels. He felt like he was going to pass out, or vomit, or both. He looked over to Finn, who's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, but nothing was coming out.

"C-can you fix it?" he managed to ask, and suddenly the whole room went eerily silent, everyone completely focused on the doctor once again.

"The first thing we're going to do is carry out a biopsy to find out whether it's malignant or benign. If it's malignant, that means it's cancerous. If it's benign, it's not. Kurt will be having surgery later this evening. We just need you to sign this consent form," he explained, handing his clipboard to Burt.

"What does this biopsy involve?" Carole asked.

"Part of Kurt's skull will be removed and a needle will be used to remove a tissue sample. A pathologist will view the tissue under a microscope to look for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, the surgeon will remove as much tumor as safely possible during the same surgery. After the surgery, a pathologist will check the cancer cells to find out the type and grade of brain tumor. The grade of the tumor is based on how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. A CT scan or MRI will be used to find out if any cancer cells remain after surgery."

"What if it's not cancerous?" Burt asked.

"If it's not cancerous, the surgeon will more than likely take out as much as possible, depending on how much damage to the brain he'll be risking."

Not seeing any other choice, Burt signed his signature on the forms after reading through them quickly.

"The surgery will be taking place in about five hours. You can all visit him before then if you like. He was showing signs of waking up when I left. He probably has by now." He picked up Blaine's chart and skimmed through it before speaking again. "Whenever you want to come down to see Kurt, just push the button and tell the nurse you need a wheelchair to go see Kurt. She'll bring you down." Blaine nodded his thanks, afraid his voice would betray him.

"If you guys will follow me, I'll take you to your son," the doctor said before breezing out of the room.

"Blaine, we'll come back to see you soon, okay? Come down and see Kurt whenever you're ready," Burt said gently, patting his shoulder before following the doctor. Carole kissed him on the cheek and hugged him before exiting the room after his husband. Blaine was surprised when Finn stayed sitting on the end of his bed.

"You're gonna get left behind if you don't hurry," he croaked, hoarse from crying. He found that he couldn't bare to meet Finn's gaze, so he just kept his attention on the loose threads of his bed sheets.

"Nah, I'll wait till Burt or mom come back. I'm not in any hurry. I kinda umm... I kinda wanted to talk to you."

"Finn, if.. if this is about the fact that I didn't notice something was wrong with Kurt, I'm sorry... I should've payed him more attention." Finn looked up sharply. Blaine looked so resigned. He looked like he genuinely believed that this was his fault.

"What?" Finn asked, dumbly.

"I knew that he was acting differently and I didn't do anything about it." Silent tears started to make their journey down his cheeks. "I thought I was protecting him. Oh god. What if I've killed him? I should've said something weeks ago. It's always better when they catch these things early, right? Oh god." He sounded like he was about to hyperventilate. "What if... what if he dies... and it's all... my fault?" He really was hyperventilating now. He clutched his ribs in agony as Finn bumbled around him, unsure as to what to do. He almost collapsed in relief when the door swung open and a man and woman in business clothes speeded in.

"What's going on? Blaine? Oh my god, Blainey," the man cried out, running over to the bed, quickly followed by the worried looking woman who ran around to the other side. They took a hand each. Finn looked on as the woman placed the hand of Blaine's that she was holding tightly against her chest.

"Feel her heartbeat Blainey? Breathe along with the heartbeat. Slow deep breaths. That's right. That's it. Good boy," the man stated, encouragingly once Blaine's breathing had begun to return to normal.

The whole room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

When Finn finally got a proper look at the man, he knew without a doubt that it was Blaine's father. He was a good deal taller, but something resonated in his face that he always saw in Blaine's.

"Blaine, what happened? Is that the guy who did this to you?" Finn quaked when he realised that the man was pointing at _him. _He made a mental note to never get on the wrong side of Blaine for fear of being confronted by his father. The man was _scary _when he was angry.

"No dad, this is Finn. It's K-kurt's brother," Blaine stammered.

"Finn, it's nice to meet you. Sorry it's not under better circumstances. I'm Joe Anderson, Blaine's dad," the man said, holding out a hand which Finn shook. The woman smiled as best she could and nodded at him.

"Where is Kurt?" she asked, attention back on Blaine. "He wasn't hurt aswell, was he?"

"I-I need to talk to you about t-that," started Blaine, voice shaking, still holding on to his mum's hand. His dad had taken to sitting on the side of the bed with his arm around Blaine's shoulders.

"What is it, Blainey?"

"I'm gonna give you guys some privacy. Blaine, come down whenever you're ready," Finn spoke, walking towards the room. He couldn't bare to hear that story again, couldn't listen to what Kurt had done. The Anderson's looked at him quizzically for a second before putting all their attention back on their son.

When Finn had left the room and Blaine still hadn't spoken yet, Joe looked across over his head to his wife. She looked as worried as he felt.

"You're gonna be so angry with me," they finally heard him croak.

"Baby, we promise we won't be angry. We love you. We just want to know what happened so we can help," Kate Anderson sympathized, squeezing her sons hand. When he winced slightly, both of the concerned parents looked down at the hand she was holding. There were little scratches all over his palm and the back of his hand. "How did you get these?" the woman asked gently.

Blaine knew he had to tell him everything. Everyone else knew so it was only a matter of time before they found out. He hesitated again though. He didn't want them to know how weak he was. They were so strong. They deserved a strong son who could look after himself, not this pathetic excuse for a human being. A sob tore at his throat.

"K-kurt.. It was K-kurt." He immediately felt his dads arm tighten around his shoulder.

"Oh my god," Kate mumbled, voice just about louder than a whisper.

"What do you mean Blainey? What did Kurt do?" Joe asked. He had to be sure, because as soon as Blaine fell asleep he was going to hunt down Kurt Hummel and kill him.

"He b-beat me up."

"This wasn't a one time thing, was it? We've both noticed how different you've been acting lately. You've been so quiet," Kate trembled, close to tears. Why couldn't her baby get a break? Being hurt by bullies was bad enough, but he'd been abused why someone who was supposed to love him. And how did she not notice? Why didn't she see it?

"I-it's been happening since I started McKinley. It wasn't so bad at the start. He'd just say t-things. B-but then he started hitting me. I-I didn't tell you guys because you were so angry at me for transferring and I didn't want you to hate me anymore," he sobbed, head tucked into his dad's chest, hiding from them. There were so many things wrong with what his son said that Joe didn't even know where to begin. He was having a hard time even getting his head around it. Kate had her head in her hands, crying silently.

"Blaine, we _don't _hate you. We could _never _hate you. You're our baby boy. You'll _always _be our baby boy. Sure, we were angry that you transferred at the beginning but only because we were so worried about you. It took you so long to get back to yourself after everything those bullies did to you. We didn't want it to happen again. How could you ever think that we hate you?" Joe asked, stroking his hand gently up and down Blaine's arm in what he hoped was a soothing gesture.

"K-kurt told me," he whispered. Joe had to keep himself from standing up and punching the wall.

"Oh baby," Kate whispered, sitting up onto the bed on the other side of their son and pulling him into the gentlest of hugs, not wanting to further aggravate his injuries.

"I need to go see Kurt," he whispered. Joe tensed up immediately.

"No. Not a chance. You're not going near that boy."

"Dad, you don't understand. He has surgery in a few hours," his voice broke on the last word.

"What? Baby why's Kurt having surgery?" Kate questioned.

"He h-has a brain tumor. That's why he d-did this to me. It's not his fault; it's mine."

**Crappy end to the chapter but my muse tends to abandon me when I get to Microsoft word page four. Anyways, thanks so much for reading and if you have time, I'd really love some reviews.**

**Thank you.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Bonding

**I'm SO sorry it's been so long. I really tried to update sooner but stuff that I had written for this chapter got deleted twice and I just needed to take a break, then college got on top of me and I haven't really had a chance to get back to it. It's almost summer vacation though, which will mean that we'll be back to weekly updates. **

**I'm so sorry again, and I'm sorry this is so short but I'm trying to ease myself back into it. I hope it's okay. **

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews I've been getting steadily since I posted the last chapter, and the mails requesting me to update. You guys are the reason that I managed to get this written. Thank you so much. I hope you'll continue to support me and I really hope that I have some readers left after taking such a huge break.**

"Blaine, Blainey.. Please calm down, it's going to be okay," Joe tried to reassure, swallowing down his shock as best he could. "How could it possibly be your fault Kurt has a brain tumor?"

"I-I didn't notice. He's been off for months and I didn't notice. I should've seen. I'm such a failure. I'm the worst boyfriend ever. Why didn't I see?" Blaine cried.

Joe looked to his wife, lost for words, hoping she'd know what to say. Neither of them had a natural aptitude for comforting people. They always tried their best to comfort their son when he was upset, but it always felt awkward and uneasy, something that they did not intend on and didn't want.

"It's okay baby. Everything will be okay eventually. This isn't your fault. You couldn't possibly have seen what was going on, what with everything he was putting you through. You had a lot on your mind, and that's okay. It's okay Blaine. I could lose an arm and Joe wouldn't notice half the time," Kate supplied.

"I need to see Kurt. He has surgery soon. Please, I have to tell him that I'm sorry and I love him." Blaine looked at his dad with pleading eyes, knowing he'd have the final say in this decision. "Please Daddy, please let me see him."

Although it went against every one of his instincts, Joe knew that this was something he had to allow Blaine to do. Even after everything Kurt did to him, Joe could see that Blaine still loved him and, god forbid, if Kurt didn't make it through his surgery, he knew Blaine would never forgive him for not allowing him to say goodbye. Glancing at his wife for her compliance, and catching the nod she sent in his direction, he looked back at his son.

"Blaine, we'll take you to see Kurt now, but the condition is that I'm staying with you the whole time." Seeing that his son was about to protest, he continued. "I'm sorry, but I can't risk him hurting you again Blaine. It's this or nothing."

Seeing that it was his only option, Blaine nodded solemnly. All he wanted was to see Kurt right away.

A nurse was swiftly called in. She got Blaine set up in a wheelchair and led him and Joe out, Kate deciding to stay in Blaine's room to make some business calls to secure herself and her husband at least two weeks off work.

The nurse left Joe and Blaine outside Kurt's room, with instructions on how to find their way back upstairs to Blaine's room when they were finished.

"Blaine, please don't feel like you HAVE to do this," Joe started, kneeling down in front of his son's wheelchair. "You don't owe Kurt anything. You can wait till after the surgery if you want."

"No Dad. I have to stop running away from everything. I need to see Kurt now. Please Daddy."

Sighing, Joe stood up. How could he say no? Blaine never asked him for anything, and besides, he'd be there the whole time. He wouldn't let his son get hurt again. He knocked on the door quickly before he had a chance to change his mind. He opened the door and carefully wheeled Blaine in. He couldn't help but worry that his anger would get the better of him the second he saw Kurt Hummel's smirky little face.

The first person he saw when he walked into the room was Burt Hummel. He'd met the man once before at a Dalton parent teacher evening, but the man looked much more haggard now, not that Joe could blame him. He couldn't stand to even think of how he'd feel if his Blainey had a brain tumour. Behind Burt, Joe recognised the man's wife and the boy who'd been in Blaine's room when he and Kate had arrived earlier.

Silently, he wheeled Blaine over to the bed where Kurt was asleep and moved back to stand beside Burt.

"Kurt," Blaine said gently, taking Kurt's hand in his own. Joe felt sick, thinking of that hand, which Blaine was holding so gently and lovingly, punching his son in the face over and over.

Kurt started to stir in the bed, opening his eyes and blinking rapidly.

"Blaine?" he started.

"Kurt, I..."

"What do you think you're doing here?" Kurt interrupted, now wide awake. Blaine sank back in his chair. "How DARE you lie to my dad and try to turn my family against me. How dare you LIE about me hitting you? Forcing myself on you? You fucking SLUT."

"Kurt, stop," Burt yelled. He couldn't listen to his son talk like this; he couldn't. This was so far removed from what his Kurt was really like.

During the tirade, Joe had inched himself forward so that he was now standing over Kurt.

"Shut the FUCK up. If you weren't about to have surgery, I'd repay you for every fucking scratch on my son's body. I hope you recover from this and get back to normal so you can really understand what you've done. You've ruined the best thing you'll ever have. Say goodbye Blaine."

"Kurt, please... Please be okay. I love you," Blaine stammered, trying to stop himself from crying until he got outside. Kurt didn't need him to be weak; he had to try to be strong for Kurt. Why could he never be what Kurt needed?

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a cackled laugh bursting from his boyfriend's – no, his ex boyfriend's – lips.

"You're so pathetic, letting your daddy wheel you around like he actually gives a crap just because you can't stand to be alone and you have no one else anymore."

"Kurt, please just stop." Carol pleaded. She was crying, and well past the point of devastated that her stepson would behave like this, even with the extenuating circumstances.

"Steer clear of me from now on, Hummel. And stay the hell away from my son," Joe ground out, wheeling Blaine from the room. He couldn't lose his temper right now; he had to stay calm. If he got kicked out the hospital and couldn't be there for Blaine, it would just reinforce what Kurt said about him not caring in his son's head.

He didn't say a word until they were back in Blaine's room, and he'd awkwardly gotten his son back into his bed, while trying to keep the pressure off his ribs. Ever since they'd left Kurt's room, Blaine had been shaking with little heart wrenching sobs that he was trying his best to conceal from his dad.

Kate was right over to comfort her son as soon as he was back in the bed. She didn't dare ask what happened, not wanting to upset anyone more. She could tell by the look on her husband's face that he felt absolutely murderous right now. She soothed Blaine softly, rubbing his back gently.

"It's okay, B. Everything's gonna be fine, baby."

"It's not. It's really really not. Kurt really hates me," Blaine sobbed. The sound of his son's voice forced Joe to calm down. He needed to comfort his son now and exact his revenge on Kurt Hummel later.

"He loves you, Blaine. It's just the brain tumour talking right now. It'll be out soon. Wait till you see, everything will be okay again," Kate comforted. She knew she shouldn't be giving her son false hope right now, but he was on the verge of hyperventilating again and that couldn't be good for his ribs.

"I just want to be on my own. You should be getting back to work now anyways. You shouldn't waste anymore time here. I'm fine now," Blaine choked out, trying to dab the tears from his black eyes.

"Blaine, honey, we've got two weeks off. We're not going back until you're feeling a little better," Kate told him gently.

"Wh...why would you do that?"

"Because we love you Blaine, and we're not gonna leave you here on your own," Joe answered. "But there's something I have to ask you right now, and I want you to please answer me honestly."

Blaine sniffled and nodded, afraid of what his dad was going to ask.

"When we were in Kurt's room, he said something about forcing himself on you. What did he mean? Please tell us the truth Blainey, we need to know."

"A f-few days ago after school we were in my room a-and... He t-tried... He wanted to... B-but I didn't... He w-wouldn't stop. But I was able to push him off before he did anything much.. It w-wasn't his fault. We've been together for a while. I-I should've let him..."

"Stop right there, Blaine. You should never let ANYONE do anything you're not 100% comfortable with and ready for. You know that... What would you do if Kurt said he wasn't ready?" Joe felt like he was going to explode. Hummel was lucky that he hadn't known this earlier... He had to try to be calm for Blaine.

"I – I wouldn't even mention it again until he brought it up."

"Exactly, baby. So why should Kurt have the right to do what he tried to do?" Kate asked.

Blaine didn't answer. His head was fried. His parents, Kurt's parents, Finn... They all kept telling him things that were so opposite to what he believed to be true for so long. He didn't know what to believe anymore. Normally in this sort of situation, Kurt would just tell him what to believe and he'd believe it. He didn't know how to decide on his own. He needed Kurt to be okay. He couldn't do anything without him...

**Sorry for the abrupt ending. I found it really hard to get back into this but I feel like the next chapter will be easier to write. I know I have no right to ask for reviews but I KNOW that they'll make me quicker with the next chapter. There's nothing that makes me feel like writing more than reviews. If you can spare a few minutes, I'd really appreciate it. If not, it's fine...**

**Thanks for reading. Until next time... **


	12. Chapter 12: The Revelations

**Hey guys. I'm so sorry for the long wait. Not gonna bother making excuses as I'm in a bit of a rush. Here's the chapter. **

It was with a heavy heart that Finn made his way to Mr. Schue's house, where the entire Glee Club were waiting for news about Kurt and Blaine. He felt so lost; Kurt was in surgery, Blaine was... He felt sick even thinking about Blaine. He could feel the tendrils of guilt wrap around his heart and squeeze for all they were worth. Wasn't be considered the leader of the group? How could he not see what was happening? How could he cast out Blaine without even considering to listen to his side of the story? And how was he even going to begin to explain what happened to the others when he didn't even understand it himself?

He saw the lights and heard the worried, curious chatter through the window as he approached the door. Briefly, he hoped they were enjoying their last few minutes of semi-innocence to the situation because there was a whole lot of guilt coming their way. Schue pulled the door open almost the second that Finn knocked, like he'd been standing beside it just waiting for news. He probably had been...

Finn walked by and into the crowded living room, where the Glee club were spread over the couches and floor. Even though the room was packed, it almost felt empty without the presence of Kurt and Blaine. Questions were thrown at Finn immediately from every direction the second he entered the room. He sat next to Puck, who put a supportive hand on his shoulder. It was obvious to Finn that he hadn't told anyone about his suspicions about who had hurt Blaine, which he was very grateful for. It would sound better coming from him with the rest of the story.

"Okay, so I have some stuff to tell you guys. It's pretty heavy. Like really heavy..." he started.

"Finn, is Kurt okay?" Mercedes interrupted.

"And Blaine?" Mike added, frowning at Mercedes. He still wasn't happy with how his Glee friends had treated Blaine in the aftermath of the breakup, but Tina had told him that everyone was meeting at Schue's to wait for news about the boys and he decided to go anyways. He wanted at least one person to be there because they were worried about Blaine, not just Kurt. He'd known the second Puck came in that something serious was wrong, especially when he yelled at Rachel to shut up when she'd been blaming Blaine for the whole incident. He hadn't been very forthcoming with information though, so they were more than relieved that Finn had finally shown up.

"No, neither of them are okay." Mike felt his stomach drop, and judging by the look on everyone else's faces, he assumed that they felt the same.

"What did Blaine do to Kurt?" asked Rachel. Her voice was giving Mike a headache. He was just about to jump in on Blaine's behalf, but was surprised when Finn did it for her.

"Blaine did NOTHING wrong Rachel, everybody. Blaine did absolutely nothing wrong, and if I hear anyone say otherwise there'll be trouble." Silence descended on the whole room, waiting for Finn to continue.

"Kurt's been... he's been hitting Blaine. He's been beating him badly."

"Kurt would never do that," Santana interrupted, sounding as ill as Mike felt.

"He has. He's been beating him up and saying horrible things to him and none of us noticed. And then he broke up with him and convinced us that it was all Blaine's fault. And we believed him. We didn't even ask Blaine. Kurt beat him up pretty badly in the auditorium today."

"I'm going to KILL him," Mike heard himself say. It surprised everyone, including himself. He had a strict no-violence policy, but he could let it go this once, to defend one of his closest friends.

"This isn't Kurt's fault," Finn cut in. Everyone could hear the tears in his voice. "He had a seizure while he was attacking Blaine. That's why he had to go to hospital too. He... he has a brain tumour. It's pretty bad. They're operating now. That's why he did what he did. He didn't know what he was doing."

Mr. Schue could barely breathe. Things like this didn't happen in real life; they just didn't. He pulled Emma against his side. He needed to feel her against him. He needed to know she was there; that she was okay. The only sounds in the room were of the girls and some of the boys silently crying, and the remaining kids comforting them. That's what he loved about his kids; they were always there for each other, and he was always there for them. So why hadn't any of them been there for Blaine? Why hadn't he?

The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. There'd been signs. There'd been signs that it was his job to pick up, but he'd ignored. All the teachers were told countless times what abusive teen relationships can do to a child in such a crucial stage of development, and informed of the signs to look out for. So why hadn't he noticed? Blaine had been so different than the cool, confident Dalton boy he'd met the year before. Heck, he'd noticeably deteriorated every week since he'd started McKinley, and Will had always had more important issues in his mind than finding out what was bothering his newest student.

He couldn't stop going over it all in his head. He'd stopped participating, he'd stopped trying to be friends with the other kids, he'd stopped talking to anyone other than Kurt, he'd given away the solo that he'd been so excited to get at the beginning of the year. How could Will have ignored all those signs that something was awry? He knew the answer. He'd ignored them because Blaine had Kurt, and he wrongly assumed that Kurt would be helping him with any issues he had. Boy had he messed up...

And Kurt... What about Kurt? He had a brain tumor... Surely there were signs. Will closed his eyes. He needed to stop. He needed to stop thinking for a few minutes or this would drive him insane. He remembered the beginning of his career, when all he'd wanted was to help and inspire young people. When had he become this person? This person who couldn't see further than his own problems... Even now, he'd just found out that one of his students had been abused and another might be dying and he was feeling sorry for himself. He needed to think about his kids, and they needed to find a way to try to fix this.

Xx(",)xX

"Blainey, you have to eat. There's no other option here," Kate said, trying to coax her son into eating one of the multitudes of foods she'd bought from the bakery down the street from the hospital. She'd went down there as soon as the porter had sat the tray of crap that they called dinner in front of her son. She was shocked to say the least when she saw how gaunt he'd become, almost malnourished looking, and she knew that there was no chance of him getting his strength back up if all he had to eat was that garbage. Blaine had always been a fussy eater, but he'd always loved baked goods.

"I'm not hungry, mom," he replied, barely over a whisper. That was another thing that Kate and Joe had noticed. His voice always remained extremely quiet as of late. They now felt foolish for never asking him was there anything wrong, but they'd both been raised in strict households where talking about feelings was something that just didn't happen. They'd always told themselves and each other that things would be different when they had children of their own, and they tried their best, but clearly it just hadn't been good enough. They'd had sixteen years to get the hang of this; why were they still so useless everytime their baby needed them most?

"Blaine, you look like you haven't eaten anything decent in days. Please just eat one thing," Joe tried. When he saw that Blaine wasn't going to budge on this, he decided that he'd have to say something that he really hoped it wouldn't come to, but the doctors had told him that if they couldn't get him to eat, he'd have to be fed through a drip, because he hadn't been getting the nourishment that his body needs to heal and survive healthily. "Kurt... Kurt would want you to get better, and be healthy." He felt sick even saying that, especially when he saw how his son flinched at the sound of the name.

"No, Kurt would want me to be thin and perfect. Please, I need to be thin and perfect for him when he wakes up after his surgery. Maybe then he'll want me again." Joe closed his eyes for a second. He needed to regroup his thoughts. Blaine sounded so hopeful of the fact that someone might actually want him. Joe had felt permanently nauseous in the hours since the hospital had called and told him that his son had been brought in, but this was the first time that he actually felt that he'd vomit. This was the first time that he realised what all the family dinners and holiday plans he and his wife had cancelled because of their hectic work schedules had done to their son.

He felt tears burn the back of his eyes when he thought of Blaine, his little Blaine, sitting alone at their huge dining room table, waiting patiently with a meal that he'd lovingly cooked for his parents. He imagined his face when they called to say they couldn't make it, that they'd just eat at the office as they were too busy. Too busy for their son. He imagined Blaine sitting their eating alone with just his thoughts for company; thoughts that of late had no doubt been filled with wonder about what was wrong with him that made his parents not want to spend time with him and his boyfriend hate him enough to beat him.

When Joe managed to pull himself back to reality, he saw that Kate was now sitting on the bed beside Blaine, cooing at him and hugging him while he sobbed the most heart wrenching sobs Joe had ever heard into her shoulder. Joe joined his family on the bed, putting his arms around the two most important things in the world to him. He'd never go back to work again if it meant that Blaine would feel even a tiny bit less hopeless.

As Blaine finally started to calm down again, they heard a knock on the door before a young nurse entered. "There's a Carole Hummel waiting outside to see you. She said she has news about your friend's surgery. Should I bring her in?"

**Sorry again for the wait and that the chapter is short. Trying to ease my way back into it. I've been very busy as of late but there's a dip in my schedule until September so I'm gonna try beat out a few chapters. As always, reviews would be lovely :)**


	13. Chapter 13: The Tough Conversations

**Hey guys *hides and waves* I'm SO SORRY about the wait. Like really and truly. I've just had the most difficult year of my life, but I'm happy to announce I'm now a qualified social care worker with a part time job that I love. Anyways, I know I've said this before but I really don't have any more committments at the moment and I really will update soon. I'm also writing oneshots at the moment (Blangst of course) which will be on a screen near you soon. I'd love reviews so much. I hope you enjoy.**

**Last chapter:**

As Blaine finally started to calm down again, they heard a knock on the door before a young nurse entered. "There's a Carole Hummel waiting outside to see you. She said she has news about your friend's surgery. Should I bring her in?"

**Chapter 13: The Tough Conversations**

"YES, please," Blaine interjected, before his dad got a chance to say otherwise. Joe didn't say anything, just glad that his son was showing some enthusiasm about something again, even though he wasn't incredibly happy about what the something was.

Without a word, the nurse left before returning again a moment later with a dazed looking Carole following closely behind. Without a word, she walked over to the bed and enveloped Blaine in a motherly embrace, mindful of his injuries.

"Carole, what's happening? How's Kurt?" asked Blaine, once she'd pulled away.

"He's still in surgery. They're closing up. He got through it, Blaine. He's going to be okay," Carole responded, her voice wavering with emotion. Joe and Kate let out a breath they'd both subconsciously been holding. No matter what he'd done to Blaine, they knew it would be much more damaging to their son's psyche if he died and never got to tell him that what he'd done had been a horrible mistake.

"Did they get that thing out of his head?" Blaine questioned, still frantic.

"They think they got all of it, but they can't be sure. They'll do another scan once he's woken up and see what it shows. The good news is that it wasn't cancerous. If they have all of it, he should be okay."

"Should be?"

"Well, this was very serious. The tumor was quite large. Once Kurt wakes up, they'll assess his memory and his motor skills to make sure that none of it was affected. Our old Kurt will be back soon though, Blaine." Blaine smiled softly. He wanted so bad to believe it; he wanted his Kurt to come back more than anything.

"I'll let you get back to resting, Blaine. I'll keep you guys updated. I better get back to Burt." Carole gave Blaine another hug, smiling sadly upon feeling how tense he was, before leaving the room.

"Carole's right, Blaine. You should get some rest. You look like you haven't slept in a month," Kate agreed, smoothing some of Blaine's curls down on his forehead.

"I'm not tired," he replied stubbornly. The worried parents shared a glance over his head as they noticed his desperate attempts to hold back a yawn.

"Why don't you want to sleep, baby? You're clearly exhausted," Kate quizzed softly.

"I can't go asleep. What if I fall asleep and Kurt wakes up and asks for me? I have to be there," Blaine mumbled wearily in reply.

"Blaine, it's going to be at least a few days until Kurt's up to seeing anyone. Heck, it might be a few days before he even wakes up," Joe explained. He tactfully left out that he wasn't even sure that he'd be letting Blaine see Kurt again. This wasn't the time to upset his son; he'd already been through enough. They could talk about it when the time came.

Burt and Carole stood up quickly as Kurt was wheeled back into the room. Burt fought back a sob as he caught sight of the bandages encircling his son's head, as he noticed the bald spot where his beloved hair had been carelessly shorn off before the operation. He looked so pale and fragile, so different than the Kurt he'd seen just yesterday, verbally attacking his cowering boyfriend. He stroked Kurt's cheek gently with a calloused finger, sobbing as he felt the warm comfort of Carole's hand enter his own.

"He looks exactly like her," he stammered. Carole didn't need to ask who, knowing that her husband was referring to his late wife, the mother of his child. She felt a pang in her chest, knowing how difficult this must be for the man she loves. "Why Kurt? Why us? Why again?" Carole just shushed gently, not even trying to come up with answers. That wouldn't help. There were none.

"Don't focus on that, Burt. He's still here, the tumor's gone. Your Kurt is back."

"Yeah, and how's he gonna feel when he wakes up, huh? When he asks for Blaine, and we have to explain to him that he's spent the last god knows how long beating the crap out of him? How are we going to tell him that? What if we don't even _have _to tell him? What if he remembers? What's that gonna do to him, Carole? He loves Blaine," Burt implored, nausea washing over him. Before, all he was thinking about was Kurt getting through the surgery alive. Now that he had, endless more issues were arising.

"Burt, we'll take it all as it comes. We'll get through this as a family. We'll help Kurt get through this as a family. Blaine still loves him; it was as clear as day when I told him about the surgery. They can come through this too," Carole comforted, stroking her thumb along the back of Burt's hand.

"I'm not sure if I _want _them to come through this. We can't just think about Kurt's wellbeing in this, Carole. What about Blaine? Would it even be healthy for him to take Kurt back after what he did? I love my son, but you didn't hear the way he spoke to that boy yesterday. And it wasn't just yesterday, it's apparently been going on for weeks, maybe even months. If the circumstances were reversed, tumor or no tumor, I wouldn't let Kurt near him again."

Despite the heartache she was feeling, Carole felt her love for the man in front of her grow even more than she ever thought possible. He was so considerate of others. Here he was, sitting with his son who'd just had a life threatening tumor removed, and he was thinking of others. He was always thinking of others. That's why she'd married him.

"Carole, I need to tell you something and I'm afraid you won't be able to look at me the same again after I say it," Burt struggled, looking more troubled than she'd ever seen him.

"What it it, Honey?" she questioned, worry encapsulating her.

"When the doctor said that Kurt had a tumor, I... I." Burt was cut off by a harsh sob, followed by another one. Carole didn't say anything, just continued rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. He didn't need her interrupting, he just needed to know she was listening. "When the doctor said Kurt had a tumor, I felt relieved. I was _glad _my son had a tumor." He broke off again. Carole tried to hide her surprise. She knew the type of man Burt was; she knew there was a good reason behind his feelings.

"I just... All I could think of was how he treated Blaine yesterday, and how he spoke to me when I confronted him. And then Blaine admitted that it was Kurt who put him in hospital. I just... I was glad because there was a real _reason _for why he did it. And the fact that it was a tumor gave me a _way _to get my boy back," Burt sobbed. Carole had never seen him this upset before. Moving her chair closer, she closed her arms around her husband, trying to give him all the comfort she could as her own tears fell.

"It's okay Burt, it's okay. It's completely understandable that you felt like that. I would have too. You _weren't _happy that Kurt had a tumor, you were just happy that he was still your little loving boy. You don't need to feel bad about that Burt. You're a good father, Kurt and Finn both love you. Everything's going to be okay." With that, she stopped talking and just let her husband mourn.

"Joe, we need to talk about what we're going to do about this," Kate whispered across the hospital bed which her son had finally fallen asleep on, unable to keep his eyes open for a second longer.

Joe just nodded, eyes not leaving Blaine for a second. Even in sleep, he tossed and turned and his mouth was turned down at the corners, almost giving him a pouty look.

"What are we going to do when he asks to see Kurt?" she asked, voice troubled.

Joe finally looked across at her, not even thinking minutely as he answered "We're going to tell him he can't, of course."

"You think it's going to be that easy? That we can just forbid him from seeing his boyfriend and he'll just agree to it and start focusing on getting better?" Kate questioned, not impatiently.

"Well what do _you_ think we should do? Look what that boy has done to him. Do you know how much damage domestic violence does to a child? That's what he is; a child. He's _our_child. We need to do everything we can to make sure that this doesn't happen again."

"He's going to need to see him sometime, Joe. He's not going to take no for an answer. And maybe it really was just because of the tumor that this happened," Kate tried to empathise. Joe snorted a bitter laugh.

"I'm not willing to take that risk."

"You can't place all the blame on Kurt, Joe. While we're on the topic, maybe we should talk about our part in this. Why do you think Blaine was so easily convinced of all those terrible things that Kurt said? Why do you think he so easily believed what Kurt told him about _our _feelings towards him? Why do you think that we didn't spot that Blaine's boyfriend has been beating him up for weeks now?" Kate's voice rose, almost hysterically. She couldn't stop the guilt from enveloping her everytime she looked down at her son. She couldn't stop thinking of the look of complete shock when they told him they were taking time off work until he felt better. She kept seeing the look of suspicion on his face when they comforted him.

"Stop, we're not talking about this. We've never laid a finger on our son, and we never would."

"It's not just about physically hurting him, Joseph. When's the last time either of us have told him we loved him before today? When's the last time we've gone to one of his plays or performances? When's the last time we actually went home from work on time to eat the dinner that he makes for us _every single _day without fail?" Kate's voice trembled with the effort of holding back her tears. Blaine always came across so confident, she'd never realised how much those things phased him. She'd always just assumed that he knew how much they loved him; just like they knew how much he loved them. Then again, Blaine was a lot better at showing it than they were.

"When did we stop trying?" Joe questioned, whispering as his son tossed again on the too-large bed. "He's the best thing in our lives. How did we let ourselves lose track of that?"

"I don't know, but it stops now. We need to get our priorities straight. We'll hire a few more people who can take on some of our workload. We're not missing anymore dinners, or performances, or anything else that Blaine wants us to be there for."

"We're not going on any more business trips unless he has some time off and can come with us," Joe added. "Thursday night is family night. We'll go out for dinner, we'll go bowling or to a movie, or do whatever Blaine wants to do."

Kate smiled softly at her husband. It was going to take a long time for Blaine to trust them, but they'd be a family again eventually no matter what.

**Like I said, I'd love some reviews but I can't really ask for anything after how long I've kept you waiting. I really am sorry and it won't happen again**


End file.
